Remember Those Who Are Gone
by Dejae
Summary: John is scarred by Cortana's death, but hides it in the depth of his heart and mind. He removes all thoughts of her and tries to continue on with his life, but to no avail, she is still present in his mind. As the Spartan busies himself with activities aboard the Infinity, he's presented with an opportunity to bring her back ... yet will he take it?
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1: Why?_

* * *

"Wake up!" A voice echoed in his head. "John, now. We're wasting time!"

He recognized the voice, and stirred in response.

"John, listen to me. They're coming for us. We have to go, now!"

John opened his eyes and sat upwards. His legs and arms ached, and his head throbbed from the alarm going off in his helmet, warning him about the depletion of his suit's shields. He tasted blood in his mouth as he realized he bit the inside of his cheek too hard.

"Cortana? Is that you?" John struggled to get the words out, as he leaned against the wall beside to stand up, somewhat fighting to find his balance.

"Obviously, who else? Now get going! I'll tell you where." Cortana quickly said. "Grab a gun and head for the waypoint."

John grabbed a nearby MA5B and a few scattered magazines, loading it. "What is our objective, Cortana? My sensor reads at a 50m radius that they are no life forms but us."

"Haven't you been remembering anything?! You almost died because of them-and you will if we don't leave now!"

That got John's attention. He warily checked the corridor ahead of him and behind him. A waypoint flashed on his HUD in the corridor in front of him.

Sprinting ahead, pain shot across the length of his body as John moved forward along the dimly light hallway, its grey walls stretching farther than he could see.

As he ran a steady pace, he checked his vitals; his heart-rate was high and it showed him there was some internal damage; and he guessed it was a cracked rib.

He almost passed a doorway when Cortana shouted in his ear, "There!"

Skidding to a stop, John double checked the position of the waypoint. "Cortana," John began, somewhat confused, "The waypoint is still 150 metres ahead."

"No it isn't!" The waypoint switched the doorway.

"You just changed it."

A plasma rifle went off down the hallway John was originally supposed to go down, illuminating the corridor a faint blue streak. The floor shook slightly as a grenade went off, causing John to become motionless and tense, watching for enemies.

"See?!" Remarked Cortana. "Now go before they catch up!"

John slowly jogged through the doorway and down another empty hallway. "Before what catches up?"

"Before they do!"

"Whose 'they'?!"

An explosion knocked John aside, and he hit the wall beside him. His suit's shield generator whined in response, and he watched the bar drop to half.

John felt the now broken rib painfully as he struggled to roll over on his back, his body protesting this movement. As he tried sitting up, John realized he could not. He was pinned into place by an invisible force. Yet his motion tracker detected nothing and he saw nothing.  
He heard footsteps coming down the hallway towards him.

"John!" Cortana screamed helplessly in his ear. "Get up! You have to save me!"

Fighting against the resistance that had thrown him aside, John stood up only to get knocked aside. Something pinned himself to the floor; no matter how hard he fought, he couldn't get up.  
On the edge of his motion tracker, red blips began appearing, surrounding him.

Cortana cried, and spoke through the internal speakers of his helmet. "You didn't save me, Chief."

"Cortana, stop-"

But she didn't. John heard a muffled sob emanating from her.  
"You saved billions, but you didn't save me." Cortana quietly whispered, her voice so sad as she managed to get out the words pass her tears. "Why them, and not me? Why?"

She continued to cry out as John's mind wracked with answers to her question, and escape strategies. The red blips moved closer to him.

Suddenly, the corridor became lit up with a flash, causing John to shield his eyes as his visor polarized to the maximum it would go.

Cortana sobbed more loudly, the sound distracting John from the black figures appearing at the edge of the corridor, bathing in the white light, watching him.

He had to get her to stop.

"Cortana!" John shouted. "Focus!"

Her crying slowly diminished, as somehow her avatar appeared on his visor, semi-blocking his view.

Cortana's eyes met his, as she whispered, "Why not me?"

Past Cortana's figure, John could make out the approaching enemies as some Elites, Hunters, and something else ..  
Spartans.

One particular Spartan stepped out in front of everything, holding a BR in on hand, aim on John's head. On the Spartan's chest, John could barely make out the three numbers that stood there: 051.

"Spartan," John grumbled, "Stand down. This is Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan John-117. State your ID, over."

"He can't hear you, Chief. He's gone." Cortana murmured quietly. "Like I am. Im gone."

"No, Cortana-"

"You let me go, Chief. You let me die, John. Why?"

For once his gaze met hers, as Cortana continued to appear on his HUD.  
Her question echoed in his head, almost to no end.

You let me go, Chief. You let me die, John. Why?

Why?


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2: Up All Night_

* * *

John woke up, gasping for air. He sat up, blankets sprawled about the bed. Putting a hand to his forehead, he felt sweat.

Getting up, he went to his room's bathroom and washed his face with cold water. His bare chest, however, was sweaty as well. Sighing, he looked up in the mirror, and stared at the person he saw staring in return.

This is the third night he woke up like this after … Cortana …

Shaking his head side to side, John grasped the sink tightly. He has to stop thinking about her. It wasn't his fault. She knew it too, that it was all for the good of humanity.

John thought back to his earlier conversation with Lasky …

_"Chief, I won't pretend to know how you feel. I've lost people I care about, but .. never anything like you're going through."_

_John responded without hesitating: "Our duty as soldiers is to protect humanity …whatever the cost." _

_Lasky looked at John and sidled to the side a bit, replying quietly, "You say that like soldiers and humanity are two different things. Soldiers aren't machines. We're just people." _

John looked back up at the face before him. He had to move on with life.

"Excuse me for bothering you, Master Chief, but Lasky requests your presence on the bridge."

John turned and acknowledged Roland, the Infinity's AI. "Tell him I'll be there."

"Will do, Spartan."

John turned away from the mirror, and entered his own room again, and sat on the bed. He looked at his hands and arms, and still saw the scars from the augmentation he had when he was a kid.

Taking a deep breath to clear his head, he stood up and put on more formal attire. He found pressed and cleaned Infinity uniform waiting in the dresser in his room. Putting it on, he smoothed out some wrinkles, and headed for the bridge.

On his walk there, he was greeted enthusiastically by some marines, and greeted more respectfully by higher-ranking officers. He nodded at them all in return.

As he stepped into the bridge, he moved aside for Sarah Palmer to pass by.

"Chief," she nodded her head in his direction, "Good to see you."

John politely nodded his head, like the so many times he did before continuing to Lasky, who was standing farther off.

"Spartan-117 reporting as ordered, sir!" John saluted, and remained so until Lasky turned to face him.

"At ease, Chief." Lasky smiled as he said so, and motioned for him to join him.

John relaxed slightly, dropping his arm back to his side, and joined Lasky.

"I asked for you to come here today to figure out what to do with you. The Infinity isn't due back for a while, so I'd like to figure out a plan of action, for you.

"There's a number of options you can do aboard the Infinity here, most of which you haven't had much time to think about. You're welcome to enter in War Games, where I'm pretty sure you'll give the younger Spartans a run for their money. You're also welcome to spend most of the journey in a cryotube if you wanted. If none of the above offers interest you, then you can use the ship's weight room and track."

John considered the options carefully. "War Games, sir?"

"War Games is a virtual training system we use to prepare our soldiers, or more specifically, Spartans. Basically, they link up and a computer, which generates an environment picked by the users. It stimulates your senses through your armour, so it's actually like you're fighting. I wouldn't know much about the smaller details, so I would talk to Commander Palmer about it."

"Sounds good, sir."

Lasky nodded. "Well, that's all I had to say, so, you're dismissed. I'll let you know if anything comes up that you may want to know about."

John gave Lasky another crisp salute, and exited the bridge.

He walked back to his personal room, and shut the door quietly behind him. He paused as Roland's voice came on the external speakers mounted by his door. "Hey there, Chief. Sorry for the quick interruption, but I thought that I'd let you know if you want a tour guide, I'll be more than happy to show you around."

Pausing for a moment, John checked the time 06:00. "I'd like to go the weight room."

"Fair enough," Roland replied back, "Just follow me, or rather … my voice and I'll lead you to it."


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3: Allies_

* * *

He surveyed everything in the weight room as he stepped into the room.

All of the equipment was inside a track which ran around everything. John estimated that the track itself had a length of 1km divided into 2 ½ laps.

"And here's our stop. If you need anything, just buzz me from the communications system over behind your left shoulder." Roland said, and promptly stopped talking.

Walking past a pair of marines who were jogging around the track, John made a beeline for the heavier weights on the western side of the room.

John looked for something that would give him a chance to actually workout, stretch his muscles. After searching and trying out multiple machines, he realized that he would probably never be able to, keeping his augmentation in mind.

He remembered the pain he endured as the surgeries took place. John almost shuddered, but banished the thought from his mind.

Looking up, he saw a boxing ring in the middle of the gym where some more marines where taking swings at each other.

John smirked, as he remembered that the last time he was actually in a gym, was when he was fourteen and fought those four ODST. He quickly paused and removed the smirk off his face. He killed two of the men.

Putting his head in his hands, he shook his head to try and get rid of the thoughts. They left his present mind, but he was still aware of them.

Setting the weight of bench press to the maximum it would go, John leaned back against the cushioned bench and began lifting the weight with minimal effort.

Some of the marines stopped and watched with amazement, but continued about their day.

After trying every weight in the gym, John realized that it wasn't worth it. Thinking back to the previous years, he remembered how his endurance and capabilities were tested during real combat situations, some more than others pushed him to his limit.

War games would probably help renew all old tricks and maybe even make new ones, John thought as he began running laps around the track. But since most of his enemies would be Spartans, the techniques wouldn't be as effective against the Covenant or any Prometheans.

After running 27 laps, John realized the time was 19:24. Tired from the lack of sleep and the nightmares he's been having about Cortana, he decided it was time to have some real food.

Walking over to the gym's communication computer, he buzzed Roland. "Would you show me the way to the cafeteria?"

"Certainly."

Roland led John through the ship for a ten minute walk.

Roland made the first attempt at conversation: "How was your workout?"

"Fine."

Roland paused, uncertain whether or not to go on. "If you want, we can probably send some heavier weights to the gym."

"Thank-you. That would be appreciated."

Roland decided to let the conversation go-after working with humans for so long, he understood their actions and expressions clear enough.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Roland announced, "Here we are. I'm sure that the way back to your room is clear enough. If not, you know how to contact me."

John noticed a few groups of people began noticing him standing by the door, so he left the doorway and made his way to the counter. The cooks offered multiple sandwiches, meals, and drinks. Grabbing a tray, he set four sandwiches, a plate that had spaghetti on it, a bottle of water, and a carton of milk.

He felt out of place. Hell, John knew he was out of place. Before he could walk out, a young Spartan fell in pace beside him, "Hey there, Chief. See you've picked up the spaghetti special. Hate to break it to you, but it's really not all that special; just a bunch of dry noodles and flavourless sauce."

Looking down at the plate, John's stomach growled quietly as the aroma rose to his nose.

"Yeah, don't let it fool you." The Spartan beside him, smirked.

"And you would be?" John asked.

"The name's Connor, Spartan ID 2947-3984-2746, part of the Foxtrot B War Games squad and team."

John turned to face Connor; he was young, maybe in his late twenties John estimated.

A few other Spartans at a table began calling Connor, beckoning him over with wild shouts and hoots.

"That'd be my team," Connor said, nodding in their direction. "You could come and join us if you'd like. We don't bite."

John wordlessly followed Connor to the table, and sat down next to him. Also sitting at the table were five other Spartans; three females and two males.

"Wow, Connor. You actually had the guts to approach Master Chief," one of the girls teased.

"Of course," Connor grinned. "And now guess who owes me that sniping lesson … Tristan?"

The other members of the group laughed and patted him on the back, murmuring 'good luck'.

"So, as you all know, this is Master Chief, the last of the infamous Spartan-II: the man who saved humanity on more than one occasion, and sent those Covie bastards to hell." Connor spoke as he stood up raising his chocolate milk carton above his head, "I declare a toast to one of the greatest human beings."

Everyone sitting around the table laughed again, and raised their various drinks, mostly consisting of milk and water, above their heads and clinked together each other's cartons, before gulping it down.

John still sat quietly, as he began eating the spaghetti, feeling more out of place than ever. Connor was right; the spaghetti wasn't worth eating. But knowing the feeling of hunger would gnaw at his stomach if he didn't, he ate everything on the plate.

As he began eating the sandwiches, the second male introduced himself and the others: "Well, I'm Chad, that's Elizabeth, Tristan, Grace, and Rose." The girls smiled at him, and gave a small wave.

Elizabeth was the tallest of the girls, and probably the strongest. Her jet black hair was tied up in a pony-tail - like the other girls, but she seemed more cautious then the rest; always glancing around the room and examining anything she didn't see before.

Grace was perhaps the friendliest of the group; she always wore a smile on her face, and laughed at pretty much everything. Despite her openness, she moved with a slowness and elegancy. John didn't doubt that she would be deadly in combat.

Rose was quiet, and closed off. Unlike the rest, she seemed uneasy, like something would happen at any moment. Like Elizabeth, she double-checked her surroundings, but was the last to smile or laugh, or do anything for that matter.

Tristan was the appointed sniper of the group, so he probably had the most accurate aim. He was laid back and relaxed as they all sat at the table together.

Chad was most likely the leader of the group; he held the leadership position, and he knew it. The way he talked and acted showed he possessed respect from his fellow squad members.

Connor was the most likely the joker of the group. He always smiled, smirked, grinned, and never stopped making others laugh unless it was a serious situation.

John studied them all as he ate his sandwiches, and made mental notes for later, in case he encountered them again-he had a feeling he would.

After drinking off the last milk carton, he stood to leave but he was stopped by Chad.

"You should come down to the War Games arena," Chad said, smiling politely. "It'd be a great match to see you against some other fellow Spartan-IV on mine get their asses kicked."

John said, "I plan on going down there tomorrow-"

"Great!" Chad grinned bigger. "I'll see you down there."

Standing up, John collected his tray and put it on the stack of other used trays. Heading back to his room wearily, he wondered just how it will go tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4: Here We Go Again_

* * *

"John! Get up, it's time to go!"

Familiar with this dream but unaware of it happening, John stirred, and opened his eyes.

"Oh thank God you're alive!" Cortana's voice rang out.

Without getting up, John opened his eyes and saw a life-size figure of Cortana standing above him, snapping her fingers in his face.

"What's wrong?" John rolled over onto his stomach, and stood up. He wasn't wearing his armour, which was dangerous, so he cautiously checked his surroundings and grabbed a nearby pistol.

"The Flood have gotten on board when we crashed." Cortana stood beside, also holding her own pistol. She threw him an extra clip, and he caught it, loading the pistol quickly. "We have to get out of here before we turn into one of .. them."

John couldn't agree more. "Sounds good. Do you have a plan?"

Cortana nodded, and shot an infection form as it shot out of a vent. "We head for the hanger, and pilot a pelican the hell out of here."

John recognized that they were aboard the Pillar of Autumn, on the bridge. He felt a bit uneasy, but took point.

Cortana followed behind him, covering his six, shooting anything before it got to them first. John led the way, walking through the hallways, taking passageways and any shortcuts he remembered. Once or twice, they had to stop, and remove all the Flood force in the area.

They found scattered guns and ammo along their way to the hangar, pausing to pick anything useful.

"Chief! The hangar is straight ahead! Cover me while I unlock the doors and the shielded bay doors.

"Roger." John, spun around, walking backwards, killing a range of Flood forms with controlled bursts. Throwing a grenade down the hall, Cortana called out: "Okay, we're in!"

The door slide open, and Cortana led the way, shooting anything that stood in their paths.

Debris filled most of the hangar, but the pair managed to find two pelicans intact in the mess.

John ran up the ramp to the pilot seat in the nearest pelican. Cortana followed close behind, making sure no infection forms followed them on board.

The pelican started up with ease, and John quickly had controls of the bird, pushing the engines to their maximum effort. Lifting off, the Pelican started forward, and flew towards their exit.

Cortana came behind him, and smiled. "We did it. We made it."

John smiled back, happy to be away from the Flood infested Pillar of Autumn. Putting the pelican on autopilot, John stood up and faced Cortana.

She looked like a regular human being, except her piecing blue eyes. Looking closer, John realized that lines of code traced around her iris.

Cortana looked away and laughed. "I can't believe we got away this easy-"

Just before the nose of the Pelican exited the hangar, it spun backwards and crashed into the wall of the hangar.

John's head hit the pilot seat as he got thrown sideways. Pain filled his body as he spluttered blood. His hands were covered in his blood, making it hard to get up. "Cortana?"

She was nowhere to be found. John's voice was hoarse as he called for her again. No answer.

He limped to the back of the Pelican, and the ramp extended downwards. The hanger was completely empty of the debris. As soon as he stepped off the ramp, the Pelican disappeared, leaving him alone.

Cursing under his breath, he realized the guns were on the Pelican, and he had no weapons.

"John?" Cortana's voice sweetly called out.

Spinning 360 degrees in a circle, John couldn't see her at all. "Cortana? Where are you?"

"Over here …" her voice faded away.

John ran forward, and was sickened by the amount of blood he saw. He followed the trail of it, until it led to a wall on the far side of the hangar. John pounded on the wall: "Cortana? Tell me where you are!"

"Right, here, John."

John turned around, and saw Cortana, or what appeared to be; her body was covered in cuts, blood, and bruises. Her eyes turned from a cooling blue to a red. John froze to the spot where he stood.

"John," Cortana asked uneasily, "What's wrong?"

Before John could answer, hundreds of Flood burst out of the ceiling, and rained down on them.

"Cortana!" John leapt to shield her body, but it wavered and flickered like a hologram, disappearing.

"John."

Standing up, John saw her farther away, closer to the Flood. Almost shouting at her to move, the Flood passed harmlessly around her and headed straight for him. Cortana's face had a quizzical expression on it, and her head was cocked sideways.

Running forward, John ran straight into the fray of the infection forms, killing some by stepping on them. But the further he ran towards Cortana, the further she appeared to be gone.

Infection forms clung to his legs, and dragged him downwards, swarming around him. John shouted for Cortana, yet she still stayed in the same position.

He reached out and began battling for his life. The Flood decreased by their numbers, but John's strength also decreased. He knew he couldn't keep this up any longer.

By the time the infection forms were dead, John was exhausted. He panted and gasped for air, and his arms and legs hurt. "Cortana …" John slid towards her, trembling.

Her facial expression changed. She now looked angry. "You left me to die."

John continued to drag himself towards her.

"You watched me die! You watched me leave and yet you act like it's not even important!"

Sucking in a breath of air, John began to speak but was caught off.

"I watched you sleep for four years, John, four years! And what did you do? Nothing! NOTHING!"

A second wave of Flood rushed out from behind her, and once again, passed her by, heading straight for John. He knew this would be it.

Cortana's body turned back to her normal self: blue, but that soon faded to red as more Flood began rushing past her.

"I watched you almost get killed countless times, I watched you win, and fail!"

Infection forms and combat forms began surrounding him, attacking him at all sides. He tried to get above the mass, but could not. Despite the noise of around him, Cortana's voice rang out loud and clear: "Halsey asked me I could watch you die!"

John got a glimpse of her between the bodies; she was standing still and the red began slowly fading away to a deep blue again as she straightened her posture and locked gaze with him.

"I said I could."

John yelled out in pain as the Flood began seriously hurting him, cutting him opening, and harvesting his mind for their own.

He closed his eyes, and could hear Cortana laughing full heartedly in the background, her voice echoing in his head.

**xXx**

Jumping out of bed, John reflexively lunged forward, killing an unknown enemy in the air. He stood there, gulping back the fear that shook his mind. He was covered in sweat again, but felt strangely cold.

Shifting his stance, he glanced at the time, 05:43. Feeling more tired than ever, he sat down on the bed, and looked at the floor.

Despite the nightmares being completely fictional and irrelevant, the Cortana's he witnessed all had the same point: he left her, and now he would pay for his mistakes.

Groaning, John fell back onto the bed, and rearranged the blankets and pillows, hoping for the best to fall asleep-he'd need the energy if he was entering the War Games like he told Chad.

John drifted in and out of his dreams, remembering her face and words, which were still echoing in his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5: Once An Enemy, Forever An Enemy_

* * *

"The War Games is an artificial program that links you and your suit to a virtual reality, chosen by the players. There are multiple game choices, also picked by the players. You also have a choice of all the UNSC standard weapons, Covenant weapons, as well as a new addition, Promethean weapons.

"There are five customizable load-outs where you choose your selection of weapons, grenades, armour abilities, tactical packages, and support upgrades. Each can be beneficial if they are used right, so make sure you pick what works for you.

"The program stimulates death, bullets, anything realistic within the game. So yes, if you do get shot, it may hurt. After each death, you have five seconds to choose a different load-out, or continue on with the one you previously had. After the five seconds is up, you respawn back into the game.

"You're able to pick up any fallen weapons from dead players, but they have a certain time limit on them before they are removed permanently. But don't get too worried, Spartans, there's ordinance drops at the beginning of the game, and personalized drops if you reach a certain point of the game. "

Sarah Palmer looked over the new group of Spartans, all eager to get into a game.

"In the normal, typical slayer game, the first team to 600 points wins. Any questions? No? Good. Let's get rollin'. You all have five minutes to prepare and get familiar with your team, which will be randomly decided in 30 seconds." Sarah ended her War Games lecture, to be greeted with arousals of war cries. "Oh, and one last thing, Spartans. If you want bragging rights, you better be damn good, because at the end, everyone gets to see their own score, as well as everyone else's. This means everyone and anyone, can and will see how many deaths, and how many kills you got. Good luck to you all."

Sarah stepped out of the Arena and let Roland run the rest. Stepping into the side room-which would let her view and see everything-she met Master Chief-117, staring intently out of the window, and at the players.

"Good to see you, Chief. Interested in coming out to play?"

The Chief held his helmet at his side as he turned towards her. He looked tired and worn down; wrinkles formed about his face and his eyes looked dreary. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Red team is down a couple of players, so you can fill in for them."

Master Chief nodded, and put on his helmet. His MJOLNIR armour was refurbished; no scratches and dents what-so-ever.

Sarah watched him walk out the door, and onto the playing field. The red team welcome him enthusiastically, while the blue team had scowls and nervous smiles on their faces, once they realized who they were up against.

Sarah allowed herself a small smile. She almost felt sorry for blue team. But soon enough, they would learn quicker, because the Spartan-II would drive them past their own limits, and into the unknown.

**xXx**

"All right, now we got something good here!" A Spartan shouted as he saw John walk down the field towards the red team. John stared past the Spartan, and examined his team. They all seemed smaller than him, but he hoped that they would be able to keep up with him.

Almost immediately John entered the group, another Spartan started sizing him up; John guessed he was the squad leader. Although, John had no intentions of taking over the position himself, he just prayed that this leader knew what he was doing.

"Welcome to Red team." The leader stuck out his hand, and John shook it. "I'm Danny, the squad leader here. That's Scott, Oliver, Grace, and Jana." Danny pointed at all the Spartans. Looking over at blue team, he said "Concerning the enemy, you want to watch out for Leigh; he's the sneakiest bastard I've ever met. A real pain in the ass, too."

Following Danny's gaze, John acknowledged that the Spartan with the green visor, and dark blue armour was Leigh. He looked like a reasonable soldier, but decided it was better to be safe than sorry, and took Danny's advice.

"Nice to see you again." John turned and met the one of only two ladies on the team, Grace.

"You as well." John replied. "Aren't you part of Connor's team?"

Grace shrugged. "They needed someone to fill in, so I volunteered."

Fair enough. John turned back and studied the blue team. They all stood huddled close together, but Leigh stared right at John, his green visor shining in the light.

"Red and Blue team," came a robot voice over the speakers, "Please ready yourself for the upcoming match of Team Slayer, on the map Complex. Game starting in 10 seconds …"

Alright, Red team," began Danny, yelling over the robot voice countdown, "Get ready to kick some ass!"

The other members answered with 'hooahs', but were cut off as the game started.

**xXx**

"We're screwed."

"Shut up, man. We can do this."

"Not with him on their team!"

"For once, I agree with Aaron. There's no way that we'll be able to take on the Reds with Master Chief on their team."

Leigh ignored his team's bickering and stared at the Spartan-II. He was taller and bigger than any of his teammates, plus he probably had years of fighting.

"Didn't you know that all Spartan-II's were trained to be killers since they were six years old? Come on, Kendra! Get with the program."

"This is gunna be embarrassing when we lose."

Leigh turned back and faced his teammates. "Everyone, quiet. Instead of freaking out, we should plan attacks while there's still time before the game."

"Oh, and I suppose you have an idea?" The teammate asked sarcastically. "Let's be honest, Leigh-"

"Compared to you, Mack? Yeah, I do. So stow it, and let me explain it." Leigh shot back, glaring at Mack.

Mack went quiet, and mumbled something but everyone ignored; their attention was fixed on Leigh.

"What are Spartans best at?"

No one answered.

"Seriously? No one knows?" Leigh became slightly irritated.

"Offense .. ?" Karlene suggested.

"Bingo!" Leigh smiled and patted Karlene on the back. "My plan is to push Red team onto defense, and crush them. We'll use some of our big weapons to do the first bit, than the rest for the clean-up job."

A few members on his team murmured an agreement.

"Since we don't know what map it is yet, we'll just have to prepare for the worst, and since we know who the biggest threat on the team is," Leigh looked back at Master Chief, "We'll have to focus our attention on him."

"Booyah! Divide and conquer!" The Spartan on Leigh's left-Dennin-jumped up and high-fived Karlene, who hollered in return.

Leigh turned and watched the older Spartan across the room. The Master Chief turned and watched him back. Feeling a bit eerie, Leigh continued to watch him when the robot voice came on over the speakers, " Red and Blue team: please ready yourself for the upcoming match of Team Slayer, on the map Complex. Game starting in 10 seconds …"

Smiling to himself, Leigh vowed that he would be the one to take down the Spartan-II. He watched carefully as the Spartan-II turned, and looked away when the countdown started. Leigh smiled wider. _Yes_, he thought to himself, _I will take him down_.

* * *

Author's Note

Short but sweet, but hopefully enjoyable. Im trying to prepare for upcoming chapters, especially since Leigh got introduced. Please review and share with others!

-Victoria/Dejae


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6: And on it Goes_

* * *

Grace leapt off the building, and assassinated a Blue team member, pulling out her knife as she jumped on his shoulders and finished the job quickly and cleanly.

John not far behind, followed behind her and threw a grenade at the other Blue team member in the area. With the Spartan's shields down, he quickly pumped a round into the head and gained a kill. He was on the top of the scoreboard with his high amount of kills and little deaths, while the rest fell behind after an offensive attack by red team.

Recovering quickly, John ran ahead as Grace was reloading, and straight for the Blue team's base. Soon after the game started, he quickly realized that that's where they all respawn after deaths, or the majority of them.

Taking the lead, he ran to the corner of the doorway, and stopped. Hearing footsteps echo quietly in the building, he took out his magnum and leveled it out. Grace dropped behind him, and also took out her pistol.

"What's your plan of action?" Grace asked as she crept around him to the other side of the door.

"Infiltrate, take out any enemy hostiles, then capture." John replied back, checking his motion sensor; it read nothing but his and Grace's movements.

Knowing very well there could still be Blue team members there, John primed a grenade-just in case.

Grace nodded to John as she went in first, clearing out the first section of the building; it was a round room with a computer in the middle, and panels along the side.

"Clear," she whispered over COMs.

John moved ahead of Grace, while she stayed behind him, the followed him silently.

Walking out of the building, John made his way along the wall towards the hill that would lead them to the upstairs part of the building. He knew Danny, Scott, Jana, and Oliver had their hands full keeping the Red base clean of Blue team members, so he knew he had to try making their efforts worthwhile. Stopping, he could hear the faint sound of the firefight going on.

Facing the building, John turned his back to the edge of the map, and walked up the small, elevated hill connected to a bridge which would lead them across and back onto the building.

From what he could see, the building was clear; however, what they didn't notice was the sniper taking up position around 40 metres west.

**xXx**

Leigh smiled and he had the Chief in his scope; one headshot and he would be gone-for a few seconds at least.

He squeezed the trigger then stopped. Leigh would feel no guilt in killing the Chief over and over again for the sake of enjoying it, but he would thoroughly enjoy it more if he took him down in a one-to-one fight. He knew he'd have to cheat in order to beat someone like him, but Leigh was confident he could do it.

Stifling a laugh, he thought about the glory he would receive because he won against the Master Chief. Even better.

Switching the target reticle to the Spartan behind the Chief, Leigh squeezed the trigger and killed her off with a single headshot. Pulling back, he reloaded the sniper rifle, and pulled out his BR. Things were about to change.

**xXx**

"Enemy contact!" Grace yelled just before the bullet went into her head.

John turned around and saw her body tumble off the bridge. Damn.

Turning on the COM, he quickly contacted her as soon as she respawned: "Where are you?"

"Too far away to be of any use now," Grace replied, stifling a sigh of frustration. "Besides, the Blue team members over here have their hands full of rocket launchers and other heavy-duty weapons. Danny needs my help."

John thought over his options. "If you can, make it back here. If not, I'll continue here. Try and score some kills, they may respond over here where I can kill them."

Grace complied, and turned off her COM. Knowing that the sniper who shot Grace was most likely in the area still, John didn't bother with stealth anymore, and began jogging forward.

Switching to his assault rifle, he entered the top of the building, and checked everywhere; all clear.

"Grace, no enemy contact over here by their base-" John began saying, was bullets started whizzing past his head.

Jumping forward, he turned and began firing at the Spartan who was firing at him. Ducking after a barrage of bullets came his way; he rolled behind a panel, and reloaded his gun.

A soon as he slammed the clip home, when he recognized the Spartan-IV with the green visor sweep around the corner, and began firing his pistol as John's chest.

John's shield's flared up in response, but held as he leapt forward and slammed his body into the red team member.

The two Spartans tackled each other, and fought for control and balance as they rolled around, hitting one another whenever they could.

As soon as John was on top, he pinned the soldier's arms down, and pulled out the grenade he kept ready.

Jumping back, John rolled the grenade underneath the Spartan and ran for the nearest cover.

Just as he was securely behind cover, the grenade blew up, shaking the floor slightly.

Standing up, and peeking around the corner with his assault rifle in check, John noticed the explosion marks on the environment, but no body.

As soon as he began walking forward, he was attacked from behind.

**xXx**

Leigh's shields were dangerously low when the grenade detonated, but managed to save his ass by rolling off the edge of the building. The landing depleted the rest of his shields, but he was still intact-good enough.

Backing up, and then taking a running start, Leigh jumped up and grabbed the edge, pulling himself up.

The first person he was the Master Chief, who was surveying the area. _Well isn't it my day_, Leigh thought, grinning evilly. Taking another running start, Leigh bounded upwards, and landed on top of the control panel the Spartan-II was hiding behind.

Skipping forward, Leigh saw the Chief began walking forward, and fell onto his back, with his combat knife drawn.

**xXx**

Attempting to remove the unwanted guest who fell onto his back, John bucked forward, and threw the bulk off of him, while feeling the sensation of a knife being stabbed in his back.

Watching as the Spartan-IV land seven feet away, John reached behind him and yanked the knife out, throwing it to the side. John drew his pistol with his right hand and held his assault rifle in his left, began firing both weapons at the enemy simultaneously.

When his pistol ran out of ammo, he dropped the gun, and threw another grenade.

Reacting quickly, the other Spartan deployed his hard-light shield, protecting himself from the explosion.

Reloading his assault rifle, John side-stepped and jumped off the building, landing with a grunt. Sprinting towards the nearest building, John's radio crackled with static: "Chief! We need you to attack from the rear. The Blue's are giving us everything they've got."

"Roger, but I'm in a tangle myself. The one Blue known as Leigh has been giving me trouble."

John heard the background noise as Danny kept his radio on. "After you help us, we'll help you. Just get over here!"

Heading over to the firefight, John picked up three frag grenades, and rocket launcher with enough ammo to take out the Blue team three times over.

As he was getting closer, John saw Danny and the rest of his team cornered in a building, while Blue team leisurely kept them in there.

Seeing a sniper rifle in an ordinance drop a few metres ahead, John grabbed it, and checked the ammo: four shots already loaded and eight aside from that.

Trading his pistol for the sniper, and crouched, and made his way across a ramp, and looked down below him: five Blue team members still kept his team in the building. Occasionally, Danny or someone else would try and escape but the Blue team would direct their fire towards the person, causing them to retreat back into the safety of the building.

John radioed Danny, "Red Team leader, I'm approximately 27 yards north-west of your position. As soon as I open fire, prepare to back me up."

Danny responded: "Roger that, Chief."

"I'll be firing in exactly … 45 seconds, so prepare to exit and launch an offensive attack on my mark."

Danny's reply was a shout as he began ordering all the other Red team members to get ready.

Shutting off the COM, John propped the butt of the sniper rifle against his shoulder, and took a breath. Memorizing all the locations of the visible Blue team members, he practiced moving left to right, aiming for the heads.

"We're all ready for you, Chief!" Danny said to John. Perfect timing.

"On my mark …" John inhaled and aimed the reticle on his first target. "Mark!"

Scoring a headshot on the first try, he moved with rapid succession and successfully hit four of the five Spartans before his Red team came out running from their imprisonment, and took down the last one.

Checking the score and doing simple math, John realized that the Red team needed only four more kills before winning the game.

"Blue team! Listen up!" Danny announced, and all members turned to face him: "We only need four more kills to beat the Blues! Let's not lose this victory."

The Blue team shook their weapons in air, and shouted "Hoorah" in unison.

Danny nodded approvingly and motioned John to come over. "Grace, Oliver, and John, team up, and head East towards the Blue base. Everyone else, on me. We head West, and flank the Blues on both sides. Head out!"

Oliver took lead and sprinted ahead, followed by Grace, then John. He dropped the sniper rifle in favour of a shotgun, as Oliver requested to have the sniper rifle.

When the trio passed underneath an overhead ceiling, the Spartan-IV with the green visor slide out behind a rock, and began firing at the group.

When a plasma grenade was thrown, John began providing cover fire for Grace and Oliver as they retreated back and into the nearest building.

"He's hampering our progress," Oliver growled.

"Go, I'll take care of him. We have unfinished business anyways." John said, reloading his assault rifle.

Grace looked at him, but John could only see his reflection in her visor. She slowly nodded, "Come on, Oliver."

"No, wait." Stepping towards the door, John peeked out and saw Leigh standing, waiting. "Let me draw his fire, then go. Once you're far enough behind him, you should be able to get some kills to end the game."

Grace nodded approvingly.

Spinning back out of the doorway, he faced Leigh, who moved closer as oppose to where John last saw him standing.

Initiating the fight, John fired off a magazine, most which was used to get his attention, and started reloading when Leigh made his first move.

He threw another plasma grenade, and began running up towards John's position.

A few seconds before the sticky detonated, John pulled back, and bounded up onto the ramp that led on top of the rough top.

As the plasma blew up, Leigh ran through, guns blazing. John smiled at the mistake the Spartan-IV just made, and ran forward, jumping back down and onto Leigh.

The younger Spartan collapsed from the extra weight John made him bear as he pulled out his knife and assassinated Leigh.

When the loud, automated robot voice came on, John knew he scored the game winning kill.

**xXx**

Frustrated, Leigh backed out of the game immediately, as did the rest of the players. He didn't even bother checking his score and he barreled past his teammates.

"So much for having a great plan," Mack bullied Leigh, but soon received a hit to the face, making him fall to the ground.

Palmer stepped out from the side-room and paused in front of Leigh.

Knowing there was a high-ranking officer on deck, Leigh stood a little straighter and stopped.

"You got cocky, Spartan." Palmer coldly shot out as she stepped aside. "Hit the showers. And that goes for the rest of you."

Leigh marched past, his face contorted with anger and irritation.

The scores automatically came to his HUD; Leigh scored 17 kills, with 13 deaths, and four assists. The list scrolled down, and he got to see the rest of the scores.

The Master Chief had 37 kills, with two deaths, and 11 assists. Most of his teammates didn't have as nearly as high of kills as John had, but they didn't mind. Leigh heard them laughing, and congratulating each other on what a brilliant game.

"What a load of BS." Leigh grumbled, and began walking through the open door, when he turned around to give the Chief a dirty look, but he already found that the Chief was looking at him.

Unsure of what to do, Leigh broke the eye contact and walked out of the arena.

**xXx**

John stared at Leigh as he left, thinking it wouldn't be the last time he saw him again, especially how the other player had it out for him during the game.

Around him, the Red team celebrated their victory: the guys took offer their helmets and chest-bumped each other while the girls fist-bumped. John felt that he did a good enough job, and began walking away when Danny shouted: "Hey Chief! We sure showed the Blue team, eh? Let's all go celebrating!"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I have something else that needs to be done."

Danny looked confused, but smiled. "Hey, whatever works for you. But thanks for coming and helping us out."

John gave the squad leader a quick salute and walked away to the locker room.

Sitting on the bench, he pulled of his helmet, and set it beside him.

"What do you have to do that was so important?"

Without looking up, John acknowledged Grace's presence with a reply: "Nothing."

"Then why aren't you coming to celebrate?" She walked over, and leaned against the lockers in front of him.

"Because I'm not that kind of … person."

**xXx**

"Why?" Grace lowered herself into a half-crouch, half-standing position, so that she was level with his face.

When he looked up, he hesitated to make eye contact with her. Grace knew that he was wary of her, which meant her plan was working.

"Why?" She repeated her question, more sternly.

The Chief met her eyes and his face hardened with a stern look. "Move."

Standing up, he brushed her aside and walked past her while putting his helmet on, out of the locker room. Grace stared after him, annoyed.

"He's a total freak," Leigh commented as he swung around the corner of the row of lockers, and smiled. "Don't expect much from him. I know I wouldn't."

Grace glared at him, and grabbed her helmet from her locker, and slammed the door shut.

Leigh's smile went away, and his face became angry. "Well it's true, don't need to be a bitch about it."

Grace threw her helmet on the ground and it landed with a sickening crack, and she pushed Leigh against the wall.

Leigh didn't move, but he tightened up, lips snarled back.

"You listen carefully, _freak_. That man has been through more than your sorry-excuse could ever handle. Show some respect. He's …" Grace took a deep breath, "He's something you'll never be. Do you hear me? And just because you're angry about losing some game to him, doesn't give you the right to be or act cruel to anyone else."

Stepping away, Grace swooped up her helmet, and started walking towards the door when she looked back, pausing. "You know, you're really pathetic."

With the words off her chest, she exited the locker room, and left Leigh brooding over her words.

On her way out, she bumped in the Master Chief, literally. He was standing right around the corner when she turned and ran into him.

The Chief straightened and she back up, hugging her helmet behind her back.

He cleared his throat, "I heard you in there," he looked at the doorway to the locker room and back to her.

Grace swore, wishing she could see his face. She slide between him and the wall, still staring at him, then walked away, back to him.

"Why did you do that?" The Master Chief looked at her, his arms crossed.

"I know what its like." Grace whispered back, her feelings dangerously close to being exposed. She tried to look at the man, but couldn't.

She backed up and walked away, leaving John alone in the corridor.

* * *

Author's Note

I know this is long, but I spent a few days working on it-I didn't want to divide up the fight into chapter. Also, seeing how this is long, it will have to compensate for any future short chapters (which I apologize for). For me, this is when my week gets really busy, but I should still be updating everyday around this time.

To end this pesky "Author's Note", please review and share with others! Also, if you have any tips or criticism, feel free to post in review or PM me.

-Victoria/Dejae


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7: We Are Only Humans_

* * *

"Chad, I'd like to speak with you for a moment."

John waited patiently as Chad made his way out of the arena and joined him at the sidelines; he had just won another War Games match with his team, who were all shaking hands with the other team. "Sure thing, what can I do for you?" Chad pulled off his helmet, and waved at his team, gesturing them to make way for the other teams who were using the arena next.

"I want to know more about Grace."

Chad arched his eyebrow, confused. "Grace? What about her?"

John stood still. "She just seems …"

Chad's face darkened, and he looked down, tapping the floor with his foot. "Everyone here knows your story, Chief. About Cortana …"

John stood impassively, listening.

"Look, this isn't my place to tell you. I'm sorry, but you should really ask Grace if you want to know." Chad gave John an apologetic look.

"Understandable," John replied, "That's all I wanted to know."

Chad nodded, and left to go back to his team.

John left and the arena, walked through the locker rooms, and out into the hallway.

Grace stood out from the rest. She seemed different, but not in the typical way; he didn't even know how to explain it himself.

John walked to the gym, continuing to think about it; however, his thoughts were interrupted when he ran into Leigh.

Steeling himself to prepare for another verbal attack, but Leigh smiled, and moved aside. "Go on in, Chief. Great game by the way."

Puzzled, John stepped around Leigh and went to enter the gym, when Leigh quickly stopped him. "Oh! And I just want to apologize."

"For?" John wanted to hear him say it; the tone of the other Spartan's voice would tell him if he meant it.

Leigh's face had a sorrowful look on it. "Look, I heard about what happened, with you and Cortana. It must be damn hard to go through something like that …" Leigh trailed off, watching John. He stood still, staring into the vicinity past Leigh's shoulder.

Not knowing what else Leigh would say, John allowed him to continue.

"But it's great though, that you moved on with life." Leigh smiled, knowing that he had the Chief's full attention. "Besides, she was just another AI. Whoop dee doo. Just another … thing, or machine sacrificed for us. Gone.

"Now don't get me wrong, she was pretty smart, but hey, it was expected of her to 'die' sometime, am I right?" Leigh playfully elbowed John in the side. "Things can't go on forever."

John stood rigidly by the entrance, not moving.

"Hey, you okay there?" Leigh waved a hand in front of John's face. "I hope anything I didn't say anything offensive-"

John grabbed Leigh's hand, and twisted his arm so that it was behind his back-it forced Leigh to fall to his knees in pain. "Hey, man. Calm down. Ow! Let me go."

John didn't respond, but his blue eyes and expressionless face stared at Leigh, whose face was contorted with pain and fear.

Letting go, Leigh fell backwards and scampered away. "What's your problem?" He spat out, clutching his hurt hand to his chest.

John continued to stare at Leigh for a minute or so, before looking away and entering the gym.

**xXx**

Leigh smiled to himself on the inside. He had found an advantage point and leverage for him, and a weakness for the Master Chief.

As soon as the Chief walked away, Leigh stood up, and almost ran to the nearest computer data base.

Quickly overriding security protocol, Leigh found piles of information, regarding Cortana.

He read, as much as he could-soaking it all in before he got caught accessing these files, then quickly deleted all traces of his previous presence and left in a rush, excited that the possible information would be able to give his the revenge he wanted.

**xXx**

John stood with other Spartans and watched a couple of Marines throw punches at each other in the boxing ring.

He still thought over Leigh's words; in a way, he was right. Cortana was an AI, but she felt more human. She acted and developed human traits, and it just seemed so natural; that's what made John feel the way he did about her.

He left the weight room, and walked to his room, listening to his footsteps all along the way, echoing in the empty halls.

When he got to his room, John shut the door quietly, and walked to the bathroom, to look in the mirror.

He saw an old man, who's seen too much, been through too much, and hid away feelings, too much. John took a sharp breath as he felt a pain in his heart; it ached, and began pulling him into a darkness unlike anything he's ever known.

When he looked back in the mirror, he felt pain in his chest.

Cortana meant so much …

The pain spiked in his chest rapidly, and he found it all of a sudden hard to breathe. John knew this would never go away.

Going to his bed, John laid down and tried to clear his head with deep breathing and meditation. Cortana was right; he was a machine in a way. He killed, and killed, and killed. He'd sacrifice himself for victories, for others, without regard to his own feelings or life. He was just another life to be used and another life to be thrown away.

John stopped his train of thought, and refreshed his mind. It was time to end this. His chest still hurt, but it would pass.

All pain passes.

**xXx**

"Oh John," Cortana sighed, and rested her head on John's chest, inhaling in the fresh air deeply.

They lay side by side underneath the shade of a tree. Nearby, children played outside of their school, shrieking and laughing as the sun shone brightly.

John pulled Cortana closer, smiling.

Cortana looked up at his face. "You're smiling."

"I am."

"It's been too long since you last smiled."

John momentarily paused.

Pulling away, Cortana looked down at him, her hair falling into her face. She flicked it back. "You know, you really shouldn't hide from your feelings. Say them."

John leaned up on his elbows, "What do you mean?" He asked.

Cortana peeled her body from his, and John felt her humanly warmth disappear. "You always keep everything bundled up inside. That's not good," she shook her head, and said, "If you don't let it out, it will just begin to consume you."

Unsure what to say, John decided to keep quiet. He looked into her deep blue eyes, and they looked into his.

"I always was more human than you." Cortana murmured, pushing John back onto the ground, and she rested once again on his chest.

And John knew she was right.

Looking up, he saw a group of boys playing on a hill. One boy stood out amongst the rest: he laughed and resisted all attempts from the other boys to remove him of his position.

Yet the young boy turned, and looked at John. He motioned to the other boys to keep playing when he ran down the hill towards him.

Feeling shivers run down his spine, John held his breath as the boy made his way over.

"Hey there, mister. Wanna see something cool I won?" The boy smiled at John, showing a gap between his teeth.

Before John could respond, the boy pulled out a small coin, and handed it to him.

Examining the coin, John saw on one side there was a face of a man, and on the other, an eagle clutching arrows in its talons.

Shocked, John looked up and saw Cortana standing beside the young boy. The noise of the children faded away to a dull sound as Cortana spoke, "You were always lucky, even as a boy."

Cortana looked down at the younger boy, and whispered to him. He nodded, and ran back to his friends.

She looked back at him. "You grew up to be the perfect soldier, and you still are. But you lack the most basic necessity of what all humans have: feelings, emotions ..." Cortana trailed off, and looked at the children playing.

"What prevents you from showing those feelings, John? I know you have them, somewhere." She peered back at him. "You won't break if you do show them."

John said, "Emotions are an obstacle."

"An obstacle to what, John?" Cortana kneeled down, placed her hand on his knee.

John shook his head.

"Say something you feel."

He stared at Cortana. "I ..."

He felt so much: sympathy. Empathy. Pain. Hurt. Frustration. Anger. Love-even more all tucked neatly and deeply in his mind and heart.

She nodded at John, as if she read his mind. "Tell me. Everything."

John opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

Nothing ever came out.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8: Nothing is True_

* * *

John stood, watching Chad and Elizabeth fight in the boxing ring. Two days had passed since his last encounter with Leigh; the longer, the better.

John intently studied the two Spartans as Chad sprung backwards when Elizabeth made an advance.

She swung outwards with her first, but midway changed direction. Chad predicted the movement coming, and sidestepped, kicking her forward when his foot hit her side.

Elizabeth rolled, and was back on her feet for another attack. Launching herself forward, Elizabeth and Chad become entangled with each other, delivering and blocking a flurry of blows.

The fight ended when Elizabeth swept Chad off his feet, and he landed on the floor with a thud. The ladies cheered for Elizabeth, while the men acted like they didn't pay attention, unaware that their male comrade lost.

"Alright, step right up, step right up. Who's it gunna be for the next round? We need two new volunteers." A marine announced, looking around the room.

Grace pushed past John and climbed into the boxing ring.

"Oh, another girl!" The marine laughed. "Who do you want to-"

"The Master Chief." Grace said as she walked backwards then stopped, looking at John. Everyone fell quiet, also staring at him.

John was surprised, but before he could make a comment, Leigh walked in with some fellow Spartans, blaring the ODST theme song in their external helmet speakers as six ODSTs filed in line behind them.

Everyone turned to watch as Leigh's crew parted into two lines so the ODST's made their way to the front.

"Oh please," Leigh smiled politely. "Don't stop for us. We're here to watch as well."

The Spartans around John muttered and cursed, irritated.

John was too, annoyed, but pushed the feeling away. He turned, and climbed into the boxing ring where Grace was still standing.

"Oh … Master Chief vs. his lady defender?" Leigh said, loud enough so everyone heard in the gym. "This I gotta see."

"Oh shut up, Leigh." Grace yelled at him.

Leigh raised his hands in surrender, and didn't say anything else.

Grace turned to John and whispered, "You sure you want to do this in front of him?"

"I can handle it." John replied, and put his helmet on.

He felt Grace study him, then put her own helmet on.

The marine running the show, nervously laughed and said, "Okay, here's the rules, Spartans: first one to go down for five seconds loses. And … that's pretty much it. I trust that you both won't cheat."

Grace moved away and leaned against the ropes of the opposite side of John, waiting for him, observing him.

But John felt everyone else's eyes on him as he made his way to his side of the boxing ring.

"When the bell goes, you know what to do." The marine lastly said as he stepped out of the ring.

The spectators went quiet, waiting.

With a ding, the fight started.

John moved forward, and ducked a blow thrown by Grace. He kicked up his left leg and hit her in the chest.

She slid backwards into the ropes, but immediately got back into the fight.

As they exchanged punches and kicks, John realized they were both equal in terms of hand-to-hand combat skills.

John slid under her arm, and pushed Grace forward. He needed something to turn the balance in his favour.

When Grace fell, John grabbed her leg and swung her into the ropes again; he was surprised when they didn't snap from the pressure and weight as her body was thrown into them.

John leapt forward when Grace stood up and grasped her neck with his left arm, and swung himself around until he was at her backside.

He kicked her feet out from underneath her again, and pinned her down by the chest: she was on the ground.

John heard the crowd count in the background.

_5 …_

_4 …_

John looked at Grace's face when her visor became visible. He wondered what she was doing when he saw her smile at him, flashing white teeth as her eyes bore into his.

Taken unawares, John hesitated, releasing pressure, when he realized he was one second away from winning; it was too late. His hesitation was all that Grace needed to get back up onto her feet.

She kicked her knees forward, and her legs made contact with John's chest; he flew backwards as she twisted around.

John regained his footing and deflected her kicks and hits with his hands and feet as Grace pushed him back.

However, she tripped backwards when John met her head on and grasped her arm at an awkward angle.

Grace fell to her knees and John raised his right leg, bringing it down onto her back with a tremendous force that brought her down fully to the ground. This time, he couldn't see her face and he had the advantage of weight to hold her down.

The crowd chanted down from five this time, and it ended with cheers as John won the match.

An ODST stepped out from behind Leigh as John helped Grace up and shouted: "Wow, you won one that all on your own without your dumb AI? That's a surprise, for sure."

Everyone glanced at the ODST's then back at John, who stood still beside Grace.

It made John angry how this ODST knew nothing yet still threw remarks at him. He pushed away the anger; it wasn't worth it.

As John turned away another ODST called out, "I think the Master Chief owes us a match."

Some of the crowd began to disperse as they didn't want to be there, but few stayed curious to see the outcome.

"Why would the Chief owe you pathetic people a match? I'm pretty sure he's never even met you before," said Chad, who stepped closer to the ODST's.

The first ODST to speak up jerked his chin towards John. "He killed my brother for some training exercise, and now I'm here to get my revenge."

The ODST began moving towards the boxing ring when Commander Palmer shouted out from the entrance, "Captain Lasky on deck!"

All officers snapped to attention as Palmer walked in, followed by Captain Lasky. Palmer held a stern gaze as she walked through the men who all still stood attention around her.

"Hope I didn't interrupt anything, Spartans." Palmer strode around the room.

Lasky spoke up, "At ease. I'd like to speak with Spartan-G017."

Grace stepped forward past John, and purposely ran into Leigh before continuing to Lasky. She nodded at him, and they both left.

Palmer remained, still eying everyone. "Stick to the War Games, Spartans," she said, then proceeded to leave the gym.

John saw no point in waiting around, so he followed the crowd who were also leaving.

Leigh fell in step beside him, "I doubt you would've beaten Kolawski; he's one hell of a fighter when he's angry."

John ignored him, and started walking faster but Leigh still kept pace with him.

"Maybe even if you had another Cortana to help, you'd win," Leigh said, still walking side by side with John.

Another Cortana? What was Leigh getting at? John thought, but slowed down a bit, interested to hear what Leigh was going to say next.

"You could probably just ask for another Cortana AI, and they'd give it to you. Plus, you could download all those previous things that the original Cortana went through into the newer one, so she'd be exactly the same."

"Another Cortana AI?" John asked, suspicious.

"Yeah, don't you know?" Leigh asked, confused. "ONI makes copies of everything, and I doubt Halsey would just make one. She'd still have all the information to make another."

John's viewed Leigh's suggestions: maybe he could get another Cortana AI, exactly like the last.

_But it wouldn't be her._

Before John could question Leigh more, the other Spartan promptly walked down another corridor, leaving John.

Chad's squad came up behind John, laughing and sputtering around when Connor asked: "Hey there, Chief. Wanna come join us for some food?"

John turned and nodded at Connor, who replied with a happy smile, but John was still focused on Leigh's words.

Maybe he was lying, maybe he wasn't; John was determined to find out either way. If Leigh was right, then he'd have Cortana again. If he wasn't …

Taking a breath, John cleared his mind. There would come a time when everything makes sense.

John's mind unfocused on Leigh then switched to Grace.

She was excellent in hand to hand combat; the best he's seen since his original Spartan-II team ..

John cleared his mind again, and walked beside Connor as they made their way to the cafeteria, everyone laughing over the turn of events that occurred.

John remained silent, still pondering over Grace and feeling tormented by Leigh's words.

Sooner or later, everything will make sense.

He made a mental choice to let go of the thoughts in his mind; they served no purpose at the moment. John decided to allow them to surface again when he was alone, and had time to think.

Then, John would logically make a decision on his next move.

He just hoped it would be worth it.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9: And All I've Done, Is Think_

* * *

He watched Grace step into the locker room after finishing a game of elimination.

John had joined a game with Chad's team and a couple of others for a game of elimination. Grace hadn't been there to participate, as it was last minute game, but she joined as a spectator later.

John had won the match repeatedly, until the other players had created a temporary alliance without him, and dominated him, making his lose his one life while the other players turned against each other.

The other players walked to the locker room, joking with each other with their kills and deaths. John followed them in, and saw Grace sit down on an isolated bench, in front on the far row of lockers to his right.

He knew this would be a perfect chance to approach her, and started walking over when she began unbuttoning her shirt.

The cloth on her back slid down, and revealed jagged red scars that were placed around in her back in a neat formation.

John's eyes widened, as he continued to look until Grace adjusted a piece of clothing, and buttoned her shirt back up, and turned around.

Her face was expressionless, but her eyes held enough anger to make John look away, and exit the locker rooms.

John didn't make it far when he was pulled aside, and forced against the wall.

Grace's eyes continued to bore into his when she asked, "What the hell do you think you were doing? Spying on me?"

"No."

"Then what?"

John looked away, and the picture of the scars came back into his mind; they looked painful, fresh, and …

Grace's elbow dug harder into John's chest. "Come on, _Chief._ Say it."

"The scars on your back caught my eye."

Her face moved closer to his, and in barely an audible whisper, she threatened: "If you tell anyone about them, I will personally see to your demise." With that being said, Grace gave him one last push, and walked away.

John knew she could never hurt him to the point he would be close to death; the part that concerned him was that she was keeping a secret, a big one it seemed.

Everyone seemed to be keeping too many secrets.

Sighing, he walked away-too many secrets people keep from each other often lead to disruption.

Checking his list of priorities, John decided it was time to find Leigh, and question the Spartan-IV about his earlier statement, involving Cortana.

Walking back over to the COM system by the locker room exit, he established a link with Roland: "Could you possibly tell the whereabouts of a Spartan-IV known as Leigh?" John asked.

Roland paused, then answered, "Yes, I could. There are three known Spartan-IV's registered in the database; a female-"

"The Leigh I'm looking for is a male."

"There is one registered male: Spartan ID 4276-9275-1936 part of the Whiskey A War Games squad. Oh .. it appears you both have been in a Team Slayer match on the date of-"

"I just needed to confirm that he was the Spartan I'm looking for," John spoke, adding, "Could you tell me his whereabouts?"

"Yes, I was just getting to that. AI's aren't all that forgetful, you know. Actually, they don't forget anything at all!" Roland said in a joking manner. "The Spartan is located in his quarters, on Spartan Deck, sub-section F, room number 18."

"Thank-you Roland."

Before the AI could say anything else, John clicked off the COM, and started making his way to Leigh.

**xXx**

As soon as John finally found the room he'd been searching for, Leigh stepped outside his room, the door closing with a thud.

John continued walking forward, as Leigh fiddled with the door handle.

Stepping between the two, John opened the door, and pulled Leigh inside before any protest could be made.

Shutting the door, John pushed Leigh away and guarded the door, in any case of escape was made.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Leigh began raising his fist, when John motioned for him to calm down.

"I'm here to ask you a question."

Leigh slowly dropped his fist, but remained tense. "Then why the hell, did you go through all this effort, just to ask me a question?"

John ignored his question, and said, "When we previously spoke, you made a comment about Cortana."

"What about it?"

"You said there was a way to get her back."

John noticed how Leigh hid a smile, but it still came upon his features.

"Yes, I did." Leigh spoke as he walked backwards, relaxing in a chair.

John continued, pressing forward. "Explain your prior suggestions of getting her back."

Leigh leaned forward into the chair, as he became serious. "I should have made this clear to you earlier, but it slipped my mind.

"Before you came back from the piece of rubble-the Forward Unto Dawn-before you came on this ship ... and won, everyone's affection, I was the best! I was the one who everyone came to! I was the one who won every single game! I was THE ONE!" Leigh shouted out, "Then you came along and it was like you pushed me to the bottom! Like you were holding me under the water, left to drown! And no matter what I do, you ALWAYS WIN!" With that being said, Leigh grabbed the table near the chair he was sitting on, and threw it at the wall.

John still stood by the door, unflinching as the table made contact with the wall, creating a loud bang as the table fell to the floor in pieces.

Leigh inhaled a shuddery breath, and shakily said, "If I give you all the options to get your beloved Cortana back, you have to leave the Infinity. Go, do whatever you want, just stay out of my way, and out of my territory."

The other Spartan reminded John of a cornered animal, who fought tooth and nail to win, but lost; but this was because of him.

John considered his options, surpassing Leigh's raging words: if he got Cortana back, then he would have to leave to uphold his promise to Leigh. To where? Unknown. Perhaps he could find missions to do for the UNSC. But he realized he had grown quite comfortable during his stay aboard the Infinity, and with the people aboard.

Leigh saw John in thought, and cut in. "You can have approximately three days to consider. Now get out, and don't speak to me until the time comes." The Spartan-IV ran his hands over his head, casting his face in a shadow.

John stood there for a few more moments, then left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

He knew he had a decision to make. How he would come to a conclusion, he was unsure of. John hesitated when he came to the elevator that would bring him to the cafeteria; he felt the feeling of confusion. He didn't know what to do.

John mentally ran through a check on his current state: he was fit to fight, and could continue until he took his last breath. Thinking back to Cortana, he knew she would also be up to assist him.

His heart panged in his chest, stopping John. Strangely enough, another feeling surfaced, one John wasn't expecting.

The feeling was actually not a feeling at all-it was a thought.

_Maybe she wants you to move on …_

John froze as soon as the the thought echoed his mind. He took it apart, word by word, letter by letter, hoping to find a hidden meaning. But all he found was nothing.

Inside his mind, John's mind experienced a drastic turn. How could she want that? He was damn sure that she wanted to be back, if she could. Wouldn't she?

The elevator stopped and three marines stepped in.

John noticed they were entering from the shooting range; he was not aware that the Infinity had a shooting range.

"Oh, sorry there Master Chief!" One of the marines smiled and moved aside. "Did you want to go on the range?"

"Yes, I do." John nodded to the soldiers, and stepped inside.

He saw an opportunity to clear his head, and make sure his aim was up to date on all weapons.

John knew he needed a moment to reassess his current position, and figure out way around it, if possible.

Thinking would either make it worse, or better. But later, he decided, he would think.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10: Coming Together_

* * *

Headshot.

Headshot.

Headshot.

Headshot.

Clip empty; switch to knife.

Throw-target hit; chest wound.

Reload magnum.

Headshot.

Headshot.

John effortlessly hit all the targets the marine had set up for him, leaving nothing standing.

He ran forward and grabbed the knife, still sticking out of the dummy, and turned, and threw it again. The dummy off to his right now had a knife sticking out of its face.

Sliding past the now stabbed dummy, John grabbed the assault rifle resting on the ground, and brought it to bear on the moving targets.

He shot them all with amazing accuracy, mowing them down to nothing.

Tossing the spent assault rifle away, John reached for the grenade he had, but was stopped by a voice on the speaker: "Whoa, there! Easy does it, that grenade's overkill. Please put it away before you wreck anymore equipment!"

John heard the pleading in the man's voice, so he put away the grenade, and surveyed the havoc he created.

Over fifty dummies and targets were destroyed, without counting those who were just about the fall apart. John nodded grimly to himself; he knew if they all were alive, fighting, and had weapons, his strategy and outcome may have been different.

John checked the magnum to see the remaining bullets he had: one.

He didn't want to waste the bullet, so he shot the nearest target remaining upright in what would be, the neck. The blow made the head fall off, but all John saw was one more kill.

The marine who had stopped him from throwing the grenade, came back over the speaker, "There's someone here to see you-I'll send him in."

Behind John, the doors slid apart with a hissing sound, and Lasky stepped out.

John began straightening his posture and was about to salute when the Captain waved his hand, gesturing him to relax. "At ease," spoke Lasky, who looked at John's destruction of the shooting range, chuckling. "I thought this is what the War Games is for …"

"Sorry, sir."

"Don't worry. We can get them fixed, or whatever can be, at our next stop." Lasky said as he faced John. "Which, is actually the reason why I'm here.

"We're approximately a two-day trip from Earth, and that is where our next stop is. There are ten groups, who will each take one and a half week leave during our stay there, so that some personnel and people remains on board. You can participate in any group."

John thought back to the last time he was on Earth: it was before he left with the Arbiter to destroy the Halo that sent him and Cortana all the way to Requiem in a piece of the_ Forward Unto Dawn_.

"I was also told to tell you," Lasky went on, "That ONI, as well as others, are looking forward to hearing you recount your adventures since being left in the Forward Unto Dawn, to being on Requiem. Personally."

"I'll go with the first group, sir."

"Sounds good. Continue about .. your destruction," Lasky waved a hand at the targets and dummies, and left the room.

John went about, picking up all the weapons he used since he started, and brought them to the Weapons room. He individually cleaned them all, and made sure they were in working order before putting them back.

Grabbed the grenade, John gently set it in its case. _The marine was right, that grenade would have been overkill, _he thought to himself as he shut the lid.

Walking back out onto the shooting range that had been modified for his own use, John made separate piles, dividing the targets and dummies into those who unusable anymore, and those who could be used for scraps.

It was three days since his meeting with Leigh, and it was time to go back, and bring a decision to him.

John walked towards the elevator, and familiarly entered in the buttons that would bring him to Leigh's deck, hoping that he would find the way to bring Cortana back to him.

**xXx**

Leigh hadn't welcomed John with open arms, but it wasn't a cold welcome either. John stood by the door in the Spartan-IV's quarters, while he began talking.

"So do we come to an agreement then?"

"Yes."

"You will leave the Infinity once you get your precious AI back?"

John kept the irritation out of his voice. "Yes."

Leigh nodded, pleased. "AI's are quite complicated things, and are often very fragile, yet their large intellect makes them useful. If you're going to want to get Cortana back, you'll need to talk to Dr. Halsey about it for the most part, as she is the one who created her.

"Before I became a Spartan-IV, I spent my time as a marine guarding a specific group of scientists who were trying to lengthen the life-span of a 'smart' AI. It didn't work, but what they found was if they took a 'smart' AI, and cloned it over to an empty 'dumb' AI Reimann matrix, then it will have everything the 'smart' AI had, but now, they will live forever. The only downside is that since they're limited, so they can't learn, they'll be focused on only one thing-their past."

Thinking of Cortana, John thought she would be rather annoyed that she could no longer gain intelligence; she was aware of her intellect and learning abilities, but never vain.

Would she want to be in the position he would put her in? John wondered what she would say.

"That's the easiest way," Leigh said, still looking at the Chief.

"How would we be able to make this happen?"

"Since we're stopping at Earth in a couple of days, the main ONI headquarters you'd be looking for it located in Australia. That's where you wanna go. The other thing to bring her back would be to use another cloned Halsey brain. But that would be unlikely."

John nodded, evaluating Leigh's propositions.

"Anyways, that's all I have to say on the matter. And you better keep your promise." Leigh said, in a hard voice.

"When I make a promise," John spoke quietly, looking away at the door, "I keep it."

With that being the last thing said, John left Leigh's quarters, and decided to go to his own room.

Pressing the button that brought the elevator to the level John was on, he waited patiently; the quietness was interrupted by a voice.

"Meeting with the enemy, eh?"

Grace stood by the corner, half hidden by the pale white light that shown upon her.

John said nothing, and entered the elevator, the female Spartan trailing behind.

"Look," Grace said as soon as the elevator doors shut, "I want to apologize for losing my temper when you saw the scars. It's just I got them from a classified operation, and no one knew until you discovered them. That-operation was a big part-"

"It's fine." The elevator began ascending upwards to the floor John's quarters were.

"You wouldn't understand anyways." Grace sighed impatiently.

_Wouldn't understand? That was an understatement._

"I would." John coolly replied. "I have received similar scars from the augmentation as a fourteen year old."

Out of the corner of his eye, John watched Grace become tense; her fists curled into a ball and her posture straightened-he knew he said something that triggered something else.

"Yes, the augmentations ..." she whispered.

The elevator doors opened, and Grace quickly walked out, leaving John alone.

Confused, John stepped out and watched Grace dart past people and rounded a corner, only to disappear from his line of sight.

John shook his head, and left the crowd of people urging to get in. Grace was certainly …

Strange.

Yes, strange indeed.

**xXx**

Cortana pulled him close and kissed him.

He was surprised by the sudden feeling that washed over him, goose-bumps forming on his skin.

She sighed with delight, and continued to kiss him, as he kissed her.

They grasped to each other in the tall grass as a gentle breeze drifted pass, and into the night.

John pulled away, and looked down on Cortana. She smiled up at him, and caressed his hair with her fingers, her hand pulling his head closer.

He willingly let the woman pull him down again, and kissed her once more.

This time, Cortana pushed him away, and smirked at him.

He felt himself smile when he asked, "What?"

"The famous Spartan-117 is all mine, here tonight. No war to call him away, nothing to defend, nothing to kill." Cortana whispered, the light shining in her blue eyes as she smiled more broadly. "All mine." She tapped his chest with a finger, never taking her eyes off of his.

John couldn't agree more. He enjoyed being here with her, with nothing to worry about.

He brushed the hair back behind Cortana's ears, and smoothed it down, readjusting pieces.

"Oh John …" She pulled his hand towards her cheek, and held it there, sighing.

"What?" John asked, worried that he may have done something wrong.

Cortana looked up at him, and laughed, her lovely voice echoing in his ears. "Be still, John. Relax."

Rolling his eyes and grinning, John suppressed a chuckle and he settled down beside Cortana, wrapping his arms around her, feeling her warmth.

She shifted closer to him, and held his arms close to her body, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes.

When John knew she was comfortable, he allowed himself to relax entirely, knowing that the woman he loved was safe here, by his side.

For once, he felt peace, a beautiful desire that he wanted to experience forever. With her; with Cortana.

* * *

Author's Note

I apologize for any wronging I have done, concerning the whole AI thing. I spent **a lot** of time, reading up on AI's on the Halo Wiki, trying to word that, and the chapter right. *sigh* I feel that I could have done the ending better, so I may go back and change that. And I hope I did it properly so that it made sense. Anyways, please review and share! Or PM any questions/suggestions!

-Victoria/Dejae


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11: Secrets, Secrets_

* * *

Grace stood, tapping her foot to a random tune as she made sure the door to her quarters shut, slowly.

She rolled her eyes, and chewed the inside of her cheek, inpatient that her door lagged behind longer than she wanted.

"Finally!" Grace exclaimed to herself as the door shut, particularly to no one. "Hey Roland, I thought you said you fixed this thing yet!"

Even though the AI didn't reply, she knew he heard.

Turning away, she walked down the hall, transferring her tapping foot to a whistle of the same tune, filling the quietness.

_I hope the cafeteria has something good today, instead of freaking macaroni salad, _Grace thought, almost drawing this morning's breakfast to her mouth once she thought of the horrific food's stench, but she held it down. Barely. The food smelt like rotting garbage combined with weeks old milk.

Clearing her mind with a shake of her head, Grace continued walking down the hall at a leisurely pace, whistling a different tune as she made her way to the cafeteria.

Upon entering, Grace gazed at everyone, looking for her squad.

A loud, snorting laugh sounded out of the large crowd and Grace instantly recognized Connor's laugh. She looked in the direction of the laugh, and witnessed Connor laughing, with milk spilt all over the table, and some still coming out of his noise.

Biting down a laugh, Grace shook her head-with part disgust, part amusement-and started to walk to her team's table, when she froze, mid-stride.

The Chief sat on the corner of the table's bench, staring at her. She felt his eyes look over the invisible scars that were hidden by her clothes.

"Just keep walking, and head to the other exit," Grace whispered to herself and began walking again, avoiding the table.

She almost tripped over a pair of marine's feet as he promptly stuck them out in her way, winking at her. "Hey there girl, wanna take a ride on my Longsword?"

Grace growled, and kicked his feet out of her way, causing him to fall backwards off the table, his buddies laughing at him.

"Asshole," she muttered, and purposely on his groin, as he lay in agony on his back.

Ignoring the painful groans behind her, Grace quickly exited the cafeteria, happy that the idiot got what he deserved and that she avoided another conversation with the Chief.

She knew he was getting close to figuring it out. But Grace somehow couldn't stop herself from babbling clues and hints until she pulled herself away from the man.

Grace hated herself for it, and pinched her arm as she strode farther away from the cafeteria.

"Grace." A calm, deep voice called out behind her, causing her to freeze in her spot again.

Turning around, Grace saw John standing behind her, his muscular arms crossed.

"Master Chief …" she nodded at her, steadily backing away, "Sorry for the small chat, but I actually have to-"

"Go somewhere?" He finished her sentence for her, and walked to her side. "I'll accompany you."

"Hah, okay, well. It's a far walk …" Grace prayed sincerely hoped he would just leave.

"I have the time." Chief replied, and motioned for her to lead the way.

Well, great.

**xXx**

John noticed she was nervous, as she plucked at the clothes she wore, and constantly twiddled with the buttons on her jacket.

"So, what brings you to … come with me?" Grace began, averting her gaze ahead.

"I have nothing to do, at the moment." He replied.

"There is always the War Games." She glanced sideways at him for a moment.

John sighed inaudibly. "I know. But I saw you in the cafeteria, and thought it would be a good time to speak with you."

"Speak with me?" She looked at him warily.

"Yes, about-" Before John could end his sentence; Grace pulled him into a hallway that had a dead-end with a hand, and closed the door by pressing a few buttons on the access-panel, closing them off.

"You certainly know your way around the ship." John said, almost smirking.

"When you've been on this damn ship as long as me, you know a lot."

John removed Grace's clenched hand from his shirt. "What is the meaning of this?"

She laughed. "What, you don't know? I know you do. You've been hiding it behind your stupid mask of a face!"

John was confused. "What do you mean?"

"You said you wanted to speak with me, so obviously you know something's up." Grace shot at him, her voice full of determination, and what else was it.. despondence?

John pushed her away from him slowly, and spoke: "Yes. I was wondering if you could assist me, for when we return to Earth. I have a certain task to complete, and would appreciate a fellow Spartan to come with."

"Oh." Grace stepped back to the panel, and reached to open the doors. "Well, since it appears I was incorrect, I'll just continue on my way."

John swatted her hand away, and blocked her fist as she retaliated. "No, wait. Tell me what you thought I was going to say, and, you haven't given me an answer."

"If you keep on pressing the issue, I will refuse to offer my assistance to you." Grace said, as she hit his arm back softly.

"Even if you do decline, it seems that you have been keeping what appears vital information from me. So I'll just wait until you come forward with it." John moved in front of the panel, blocking Grace's access from it.

She glared at him. "Roland?" Grace called out.

"Yes? Oh .. so it seems there's a damsel in distress here …" The AI chuckled.

"Not in distress." Grace shook her head. "Annoyed. Please unlock the door. Now."

"Actually ma'am, I've been overhearing the conversation and I agree. It seems like you're keeping a secret. Also, I've noticed that ever since you've met Spartan-117, your behavioural patterns have been differing slightly, but noticeably. I suggest it would be wise to say whatever you've been keeping."

Grace's eyes narrowed. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't It's classified, way beyond your rank, Chief, and Roland, you don't have a say in this. So open the door now."

"What?!" Roland gave the equivalent of a human gasp. "I do have a say! I'm the AI of this ship you're on."

"Oh wow. A whole ship you say?" Grace sarcastically replied. "Wow .. you can do so much!"

"Err. Okay, maybe not a whole not lot, concerning this situation, but I'm still an all powerful AI!"

"Open. The. Door." Grace said.

John shifted his weight to his right leg, irritated. He rubbed his jaw with a sigh. "Very well." Moving aside, he pressed buttons, opening the door with a hiss.

"Chief? Are you serious?" Roland asked, unsure.

"If she doesn't want to talk, she won't." John stated, and motioned Grace to leave.

Squinting her eyes at him, Grace slid past him, when she was stopped.

"Are you coming with me or not?" John asked, using his arm as a blockade in front of the Spartan-VI.

She hesitated for a moment. "Sure." Grace ducked under his arm, and walked out of the enclosure.

"Women," Roland said, and flickered to life on the hologram pad next to the panel, looking after Grace. "I'll never understand them."

John arched an eyebrow at Roland's words, and laughed softly.

The AI faced John, hearing his laughter, and grinned before he flickered off.

John ran his fingers through his hair, and walked back out of the hallway.

Grace was gone again, and he stood there awkwardly, letting other people pass by him, their laughs and conversations filling the silence.

Someone pushed him, and he almost stumbled when he saw Leigh stare at him as he walked away with his squad, who were all giggling at his little stunt.

John kicked out his foot and it landed on the back of Leigh's knee, causing him to fall forward. He tried to stop himself by grabbing onto the girl in front of him, but she just brushed him off with angry slap.

Leigh picked himself from the ground, his expression more angry than John had ever saw.

John smiled at him, a rare but thoughtful gesture before he ambled away, savouring the previous moment of Leigh's fall.

**xXx**

"C'mon, Leigh. He's not worth it." Karlene tried to pull him back towards where the rest of the squad was.

He ripped his arm from her grasp, and moved towards the Master Chief.

"Leigh!" Mack called out, stifling a laugh as everyone else around him began cackling with amusement. "Let's go, man!"

The Chief turned around, and eyed Leigh's fast approach curiously.

_Way to draw his attention, Mack_, thought Leigh as he neared the Spartan-II.

"You got a problem, Chief?" Leigh tried to sound calm, but heard the hatred in his own voice.

"No." His blue eyes bored into Leigh, as he blinked once.

Leigh bit his tongue, unsure of what to do. The Chief was taller than him by at least seven inches, nearly towering over him.

Master Chief moved closer to Leigh, as if he was going to say something, but turned and walked away.

Leigh sighed, and stiffened when Karlene tugged at his arm again. "Let's go." She urged quietly.

He sidled to the right, and looked at Karlene.

Her gray eyes silently pleaded with him, but she remained tall, her shoulders square and her grip firm.

Leigh rolled his eyes, and gave in. He saw relief flood into her gray eyes but she spun away, still holding onto his arm.

"To the cafeteria!" Karlene shouted triumphantly, raising her free hand upwards.

"Huzzah!" Shouted Mack in reply, and moved aside to let Karlene walk through the group.

A small smile touched Leigh's lips.

He briskly looked back over his shoulder, and saw the back of the Master Chief's head, taller than the crowd, walking further down the hall.

_At least he'll be leaving soon_, thought Leigh as he ignored his other team members bugging him.

_For good._

Even though Leigh very much disliked the man, he felt a pang of sympathy for him, which confused him.

Dennin noticed Leigh looking back, and gave him a fluttering smile. "Awwww, is our wittle Leigh goin' all soft for the Spartan-II?"

Leigh laughed, and shook his head.

"Good." Mack clapped him on the back. "'Cause we're going partying as soon as we get to the mother planet, and we don't want you doping about, ruining our good time."

"Naaaaaah. Don't worry about it." Leigh high-fived Karlene, smiling again.

_Yeah Leigh, don't go soft now._


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter 12: Is Anyone Listening?_

* * *

John never knew so many Cortanas could fight with each other.

When he tried to call out, he couldn't make a sound; when he tried to move, he was frozen in place.

So many of her voices … and not just hers, John recognized Dr. Halsey speaking as well, but it was all from the same person.

"Cortana-control yourself!"

"I can't."

"John! Chief!"

"I hate you."

He heard nothing but her, and only her. John vaguely recalled that he was back in the cryo-tube on the Forward Unto Dawn, the hologram pad directly in front of him.

Frustrated, John pushed, and pulled, but he couldn't move. When he tried to yell out in madness, he couldn't even generate the sound.

The ship shuddered but the Cortanas ignored it.

"You think I'm going to die aboard this ship? Even Chief will suffer the same fate as me."

John struggled to grasp the situation, as he managed to croak out, "Cortana ... I'm here …" He shifted his shoulders a bit, relieved that he made progress.

Beneath the rampant Cortana's voices, he heard another one of her voices: the distress signal.

John had never felt so angry in his life. He tried and tried to get their attention but they never listened to him.

With a roar, he miraculously uprooted his body from its frozen position, and began pounding the window that allowed him to see everything outside the cryo-tube.

The window began bulging as he became exhausted, his hits lessoned with force and degree each time he took another swing at it.

The Cortanas continued arguing, fighting with each other over pointless things, when the ship groaned and things began falling apart.

They all stopped at once, and John tried to see if anyone was coming down the hall.

An orange light trans versed through the hallway, and past them, highlighting everything with a warm glow.

Only one Cortana appeared on the hologram pad, and began talking again, more calmly. "It appears to be an alien construct. Data confirms it was built by the Covenant."

"Cortana .. please. Let me out." John tried asking, but she continued to ignore his presence.

"No need for analyzing; we are in danger."

She then turned, and looked at John. He caught his breath and waited for her to speak.

"'Wake me when you need me', you said."

"I'm awake, I'm here, Cortana. I'm here." John said shakily, leaning against the window.

She stared right into his eyes, deep in thought. He waited for her intently, watching her every move.

With a sigh, she shook her head, and looked away.

John never felt so lost in his life.

**xXx**

"There she is, boys," Palmer said, joined John, Connor, Chad, Tristan, Leigh, Mack, and a few other male Spartans in the hangar. "Earth."

Everyone could see the beautiful planet through the clear window; the deep blue seas and green land beneath the white haze of clouds.

"She certainly takes my breath away," Mack sighed, as he stared longer at it than the others.

Leigh hit Mack's arm, and brought him back to reality, blushing a shade of red when he noticed everyone was staring at him.

Palmer looked at Mack, her face blank, but mentally, she wondered _what the hell got into him?_

She turned, and studied everyone else's faces. Most faces were relaxed, calm, or joyful even, but one face had no expression it, no feelings; just lines that traced around his old eyes.

"Spartan-117, you look a bit tired." She dryly said.

Palmer watched as the man straightened his posture and met eye contact with her. "No ma'am."

"Good." Even though she knew he was, she did not question him further, as more Spartans arrived for deployment to the surface.

"Grace, my lady! Rosie, my spectacular Rose. Elizabeth; lookin' good, girl!" Connor jokingly called out as the three ladies walked towards the group. Chad rolled his eyes and Tristan pushed him. Mack and Leigh departed as the rest of their squad entered the hangar.

Palmer stood off to the side as the squad greeted each other friendly; she watched as they included the Spartan-II to some extent as they played around.

_It's like they adopted him into their squad_, she thought as she watched the man give a small smile at one of Connor's jokes.

"All personal who are leaving for Earth, please be in the lobby for departure in five minutes." Roland announced, his voice ringing throughout the hangar.

Pilots began starting the engines on their various fliers, and people walked aboard of their designated aircraft-mainly pelicans.

John joined Tristan as they fell in line behind Chad, who led his squad to their ride.

A pilot walked down the ramp, and gave a cheeky smile at the group. "Hey folks. The name's Chester, but you can just call my Chet. I'll be your flier for this morning."

Chad smiled warmly, and walked up the ramp, chatting with Chet about their flight.

"So, Chief. What have you got planned for your stay on Earth?" Tristan asked.

John cleared his throat. "I have personal business to attend to near the end of the week."

"Ahh, nice, nice." Tristan scratched his head, and sat down into a seat next to John. "Have you ever been to Australia?"

John tried to remember, but couldn't. "Most likely."

"It's a kick-ass place, especially with those hot Aussie women, eh?" Tristan grinned playfully. "Have you got a girl?"

"A girl?"

"Yeah … a girl. Don't any of you Spartan-II's have a partner? Or a spouse?"

"No." John knew there was no one, but Cortana for him. Even if she was just another AI.

"Oh." Tristan looked confused, but smiled, hiding it. "Well, no big deal. You'll probably meet a lot of ladies. And you'd be surprised how many people may wanna meet you."

The Spartan-II's were the ones who received the glory, the fame during the Covenant war with humanity, unlike Spartan-III's.

John sighed, and closed his eyes, feeling the motion of the pelican as it lifted upwards, and out into the atmosphere.

Tristan broke off the conversation with him, and began eagerly chatting with Connor about their planned activities.

John zoned in on Grace's conversation with Elizabeth and Rose.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, Rose. I'm fine."

"No, Grace, you're not. For once, I agree with Rose. You've been acting strange."

"So?"

"So something's wrong … is it because of all the health tests-"

"You're not supposed to talk about that!" Grace's voice rang out loud and clear.

Connor stopped talking, and looked at her. John also opened his eyes, and watched her face become flustered and angry.

Grace stood up, and went to the cockpit, leaving everyone quiet.

"So …" Connor began speaking, "Who here likes kangaroos?"

* * *

Author's Note

_And here we find our author, trudging slowly against the wind up a steep hill, homework, tests, and work being thrown at her, all in a short time frame._

Let's just say school's dumb and work's been time-consuming.

Anyways, things have gotten busier by the day, so it's been hard to find time to write, yet I do plan on finishing this and going back to revise any work. Apparently my laptop screwed up some chapters so that's been annoying.

Hope you enjoy this! Review and share please! :) PM me any questions or suggestions!

-Victoria/Dejae


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter: Pain is for the Broken-Hearted_

* * *

"What do you want?!"

"To talk."

"Get lost."

John sighed."Grace."

"What?" She asked angrily.

"You have continued to avoid your problem for some time now."

"What's it to you?" Grace turned away, and pulled her hair back into a pony-tail.

The music of the club pounded in the background as John stood awkwardly in the bathroom with Grace, who played with her short hair.

"Well?" she demanded impatiently.

"You should say it."

"Why?"

"Because I will listen."

Grace looked at him, the anger in her eyes slowly faded away as her expression softened. "We shouldn't talk here .. let's take a walk."

John politely opened the door for her, and followed close behind as she pushed her way through a mob of dancing people. He heard Connor yelling along to the song, and mentally groaned as his voice progressively got worse.

"Stick to your day-job man!" A bartender shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth so the drunk Connor could hear.

"Killin' shit? Aww, well, of courseeee, hehehe. Those grunts are just sssooo darn caaaaute, yeaaah. Caaaute." Connor slurred his words, smiling. "Heeyy, Chiefff! Mah Master Chief! You so good, man. Soooo gooood! Like ... so good!"

Chad held Connor in his seat, and waved John past. "Sorry, he gets like this when he's had too much."

"Tooo much?! Whatchya talkin' bout, man? I'm … Imm perfectly fineeee. Yeaaaah." Connor relaxed back into his seat, and began singing along to the next song.

Grace held a door open, and John stepped out into the night, inhaling the cold air carried by the wind, Connor's agonizing voice drifting out of the club, only stopping when the door closed behind them.

"Let's go down by the beach," Grace suggested, and rubbed her temples, wincing. "Connor always sings when he gets drunk enough."

John couldn't help but to agree as his head ached.

They walked side by side, occasionally moving so a group of people could also fit on the sidewalk.

John didn't know where the beach was, so he let Grace lead the way. When they arrived, Grace continued down to the shore, and kicked sand into the ocean.

He followed, and stood quietly behind her as she moved sand around with her feet, obviously deep in thought.

Finally, Grace said something. "You don't recognize me, do you?" She whispered quietly.

"What?"

"Look, this is classified information. No one but me and ONI, and a few others know."

"I can handle classified information." John said, and watched as she nervously mulled about.

"I wouldn't doubt it, but however, I think you're going to be very surprised."

"Then tell me, and we'll see."

Grace met his eyes. "I," she sighed, and righted herself. "I'm the flash-clone of Spartan-II Grace-093."

John didn't move a muscle, but his mind raced. "_Flash-clone? That's impossible. None of the flash-clones survived. She's lying? Unlikely, her emotional response was too-"_

"I was the one exception." Grace spoke, as if reading his mind. "I was the only one who survived. However, it wasn't as great as it sounds." She closed her eyes, and swayed a little in a strong breeze.

"When Halsey found out I survived, it was like she had an extra copy of the perfect Spartan. So, she made sure I got everything I need, which basically was endless surgeries, being bed-ridden for months, and unable to do anything at times, all just to keep me alive."

Grace laughed loudly. "Can you believe my expression when Halsey told me that I was a flash-clone? I didn't believe her. I had all these feelings, these sensations … turns out, they were just the original's."

John certainly was astounded. He couldn't believe that the woman standing in front of him was a flash-clone. Even though her and the real Grace looked somewhat alike, they were different .. different people.

Grace stared at him, trembling. "Do you know what it's like to know you're just some … just a damn copy?"

John saw she needed to be comforted, but he didn't know how. And if she was anything like the real Grace, he knew that-

John stopped that train of thought, aware that he was comparing the two.

"After the real Grace died in combat, Halsey saw a chance to use me. So when I was old enough, she offered me the chance to become a Spartan. I was supposed to be like you, the Spartan-II's." Grace spoke, and looked out at the ocean, her back facing John. "But my health grew worse; my organs were failing, my brain wasn't functioning right at times. So I spent pretty much my whole life trying to survive."

John saw her give the moon a small smile, her white teeth flashing in the light.

"For most of my life, I trained to be here where I am today. But the scars …"

John went to interfere when she slipped her arm out of her sleeve. He saw the silver lines that curved and traced around her arm, and up her shoulder.

She quickly slipped her arm in her sleeve again, and faced him. John saw the emotions building up in her eyes.

**xXx**

Grace felt his piercing gaze, and it tormented her.

She felt his eyes trace over the scars eternally embedded on her body.

Sighing quietly, she covered her arm again; the scars vanished from his sight.

Grace turned around, and looked at the man. His face remained calm, his eyes on her. She held his attention.

Anger rose up like a flare in her uncertainly, and she compelled herself to say, "You loved Cortana, didn't you?"

He jerked upright slightly at her words, but his eyes still remained on hers.

"You loved her, and you lost her," Grace heard herself saying, "And that's why you are the way you are. You're drawn back, anti-social, like a machine, almost."

"Don't call me that." He said in an even, low voice. His chest expanded, showing his irritation.

"Why? Because you are?" She shot out.

The man's face turned from a calm expression, to wrath.

Grace pushed him. "_He needs to get his feelings out." _She thought to herself.

He stepped back once, and refused to budge more as she tried to push him.

"She made you human! She made you feel something! Feel something, dammit!"

John became more angry at Grace's words, but she refused to stop, especially when she got this far.

"And when she left you, you … you …"

John stepped forward, causing Grace to step back, almost stumbling if he hadn't grabbed her arm. She tensed up at the contact, and glared at the Master Chief.

He looked down, and saw his hand clenching her arm tightly. His eyes widened, and he loosened his grip, letting go.

"John," Grace began, but stopped herself.

His eyes were so sad. They stared brokenly into hers, her heart, her entire being. Grace noticed he shakily stepped back further, and curled his fists into balls.

"I'm … I'm sorry." He whispered, and looked shamefully away.

Grace understood his pain; one look was more than enough to make her want to fall to her knees, but she didn't. She needed to be strong.

"Tell me." Grace said, and gently set her hand on his arm.

He jerked away at the touch, and she quickly withdrew.

The man cleared his throat, and sighed. "She called me a machine, before."

Grace silently urged him to tell her more.

"Before she left, the last time I saw her .." His voice sounded distant. "I couldn't leave her, but I had no choice.

"She didn't … wait."


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter 14: We're All Human_

* * *

Grace sat by the bed of the sleeping man, his soft breaths filled the silence.

She watched his chest rise and fall with a steady rhythm, and sighed. Only an hour ago were they on the beach, him telling her about Cortana, and her telling him about her past.

The man obviously was troubled about his loss-Grace knew that she would be.

She sighed, and leaned on her elbow on the wobbly bedside table, her eyelids drooping down.

"_Maybe I should go-"_

Grace's elbow slipped and she half-fell onto the bed. John awoke with a start, and held an arm out to stop try and stop her quick descent.

She cursed under her breath and tried to raise herself upright when the man next to her asked, "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yes. Fine. Splendid." Grace curtly replied and sat back again.

The Chief looked at her, eyes squinting a bit.

Before any of them could move, the door to their room burst open with a singing Connor.

"Annnnnnnnd, I waaas like, FORGET YOUUUU!"

"Connor, shut up." Tristan groaned and he followed Connor into the room, Chad close behind.

Connor stumbled to a stop, and eyed Grace and John. "Whaddya doin'?"

"Nothing." Grace sighed. She saw John out of the corner of her eyes look at him, then look at her.

"Psssh. You guysss, look .. look like you shared your first kiss or somethin'."

"Okay, wise-guy, time to go to bed." Chad hauled Connor into the other bedroom, ignoring his pleas.

Grace ducked slightly behind her bangs at Connor's comment, and noticed the Chief running a hand through his hair.

Once Connor was put to bed, Chad came back out as Elizabeth and Rose entered, Tristan following.

The three newcomers looked at her suspiciously, which made Grace scowl.

"I put Connor to bed," Chad said, the first to speak. "So we can go back."

"Good, we were checking up on you." Elizabeth responded first. "So we can stop babysitting Connor."

"I don't know … maybe we should keep watch on those two." Rose spoke hesitantly.

Grace felt all but two eyes fall upon her and the Master Chief. She tried to sigh irritated, but couldn't.

"No thank-you. We are more than capable of handling things ourselves."

Mentally, Grace thanked John a million times. "Yes, he's right. We got it under control. I'm going to bed anyways."

Rose continued to gaze at them as Chad laughed and danced past his sober squad members. "Come on, kids! I am in the mood to get my groove on!"

"We'll go as long as you promise to never ever say that again." Tristan bit back a laugh, and set his arm around Rose's shoulder, pulling her closer to him. "Let's go."

Chad was the first out the door doing an old dance move Grace recognized as the Macarena. Elizabeth quickly mimicked his moves, giggling. Tristan waited for Rose as she still looked at Grace and John.

"Rose," Tristan quietly said, and pulled on her arm softly.

She looked over them one last time, before exiting the hotel room.

When the door shut, Grace exhaled a deep breath. "I never thought they'd leave."

"Why?"

Grace turned and saw John's quizzical expression.

"I don't know, just wanted some peace."

She saw the Chief nod, understanding.

"Also," Grace blurted out, "I want to apologize for my rambling ... earlier ... when I'm exhausted, I just talk and talk and talk-"

"Don't apologize."

Grace felt her lips twitch to annoyance, but broadened them into a smile. "Very well. Well, I am off to bed, which, technically, is the one you're sleeping in, but I'll just hop in Elizabeth's."

She watched amusedly as John hesitantly looked down in the bed he was currently occupying and at the others.

"That also means that you have to get up and go to the guys' room." Grace laughed a bit. "Sorry to ruin your discomfort."

"Not that important." The man got up and rearranged the sheets to their former state before the left to the guys' room.

As soon as the door softly thudded shut, Grace ran and leapt into the soft bed one over from where the Chief was. The bed had a pleasant look to it; the smell of clean sheets and the feeling a deep mattress was something she would always pick over the beds given to the personal aboard the _Infinity_.

Grace quickly jumped back out of bed to exchange her clothing to something more suitable for bed wear. Once done, she dove back in, and settled in, pushing the pillows and blankets around.

"Lights, out," Grace called out, and was answered with the lights in the room dimming down slowly to complete darkness. Only the moonlight entered the room through the window, and casted a white glow upon the ground.

Alone and oddly satisfied, Grace closed her eyes, and began willing herself to fall asleep.

**xXx**

John waited until he saw the light from her room go out from under the door.

When it did go out, he waited ten seconds, then stood up, and silently entered the joint room.

"Grace?" John whispered, hoping it would be loud enough for the other person to hear.

The sound of muffling sheets and an almost annoyed voice answered, "What?"

"Will you still come with me to complete the personal business I have to do?"

"Errr. Yessss, now go before I decide a pillow would make a good weapon to hit you with."

John chuckled, and closed the door again.

Connor snored on the couch, his mouth open, and face molded into a frown as he dreamt of unknown things.

_He better not snore the entire night_.

John slipped into his designated bed, and moved around until he was comfortable. Then he replied the evening's events.

He knew with what was said that there was something that connected him to her and her to him now. That could be useful or bad.

John sighed, and flipped onto his other side. _I went over the line. I lost control of my feelings._

_But it made you a bit more human than before_, a quiet voice murmured in his head.

He held his breath as he went over the statement once again: _But it made you a bit more human than before_.

Human. Not machine, but human.

John rubbed his eyes, and stared out the window at the glowing white orb that circled the Earth, revealing its glory only at night, only now.

Is becoming more human a good thing though?

John reviewed the advantages: he would feel things, become less of a killing-machine, and maybe help him further on in the future. The disadvantages: his emotions would get in the way of things-especially his military career, and he certainly planned to go back to active duty once he got Cortana back.

That is, if he got her back.

Taking a deep breath, John cleared his mind and pushed aside his troubles and worries. It had been a long night, and he suddenly became weary, tired.

Sleep now, think later, and make a decision- a good plan to start off with. John smiled, his white teeth reflecting the moonlight as he began to fall into a deep, relaxing sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15: What Will Be_

* * *

"You went through quite an adventure, Spartan."

"I did."

"You first awoke from your cryotube on a piece of the Forward Unto Dawn by the AI Cortana, to discover Requiem, only to meet an armada of Covenant waiting."

"Yes."

"After landing on the surface of Requiem, you fought your way to Captain Lasky, who was accompanied by Spartan-VI Commander Palmer. You assisted the Infinity upon thereafter, only to go against Del Rio after you failed to convince him of the Didact's threat."

"Oh shut up, Harold, you know his story as well as I do."

John held back a sigh as he stood in front of three ONI spooks; the one now known as Harold.

"Julianne-"

"Don't Julianne me. This man has probably repeated his story more than once, and now you want to do it again? Leave him be."

Harold grumbled, and shot Julianne an irritated look, who promptly ignored it. She smiled warmly at John and said, "Well, Master Chief. You come here without a reason, and it quickly became an interrogation-"

"I didn't mean for it to become-"

"Like I said before, Harold: shut up."

John went to go interrupt when she addressed him. "So, why are you here?"

He cleared his throat quietly, and went to go speak when the second woman cut in.

"How was your stay in Australia so far?" Her voice had a light but detectable Australian accent.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Caroline, just let him talk!"

Caroline simply looked at Julianne, and then looked at John.

John sighed out loud, hoping that it would keep them quiet. "I came here to request a new AI."

Harold looked thoughtfully at him for a moment, before saying, "Yes, you could receive a new AI. Newer models have been created that are more beneficial than the last."

"Not exactly what I'm looking for." John studied the facials expressions, seeing curiosity arise.

"What are you looking for?" Caroline asked.

"I would like another Cortana; more specifically, another AI that has the previous Cortana's information, memories-that type of thing. I want to continue my military career and believe that having another Cortana would be better than replacing her all together."

"Interesting. I don't see why we couldn't .. is it even possible?"

"My department has successfully cloned 'dumb' AI, and have currently finished working on cloning a 'smart' AI, despite the difficulties. We still have the old Cortana AI's main database on hand, so that should accessed sometime soon. I'll spare you all the technical difficulties, but the process should take at least a day."

"Good," Julianne said, and organized some papers that were in front of her. Caroline turned and whispered something to Harold, her voice so quiet that John couldn't even hear with his keen ears.

Whoever these ONI people are, they are certainly not the kind of people John was used to dealing with, especially those from Section 3.

"Excuse, Chief."

John snapped his gaze to Caroline, who relaxed back in her seat, also staring back at him. "I don't mean to sound rude, but you are eligible for retirement. With your past military service and outstanding achievements, it would be an honorary … discharge."

_Are you being serious? _"No thank-you, ma'am."

"Alrighty!" Harold announced, set down his tablet. "I have my technicians starting the cloning. It'll take a bit longer because we have to access the old Cortana's files, plus recreate another 'her' but we should get right on track."

"Perfect! Master Chief, I can get you assigned to the squad your currently staying with once you get your AI again. Also, we should update your MJOLNER armour to its current model; we had that shipped down when you left the _Infinity_. While you're waiting, you may stay in the room outside if you choose to stay in the ONI headquarters." Julianne smiled at him again. "You are dismissed. We will call for you when everything is completed."

John turned, and left the room, doors closing behind him.

Grace stood up from her chair and asked, "How'd it go?"

"Good."

"Annnnnd?"

"They have agreed to make and give me a new Cortana AI."

"That's good … when will you get her?"

"In about a day."

What do you want to do until then?"

"Just wait."

She pursed her lips, irritated. "That's all you wanna do?"

"You can leave."

"No, I'll stay."

John picked a chair that gave him a clear view of the room and the doors, and sat down rigidly. Grace chose the chair to the left of him, and sat down beside him. She crossed her ankles and tapped the armrest of the chair.

He sat still, allowing his mind to give him situations to run through in his head.

"What do you think you'll say to her?"

John turned and met Grace's gaze. "I don't know," he said in a quiet reply. _I really don't know_, he thought to himself, which was partly the truth. John allowed him a brief opportunity to explore the possibilities: if the new Cortana had the old Cortana's feelings and thoughts, would she be the same? Would she be different? How?

John brought himself back to reality with a shake of his head. _What will be, will be_, he thought to himself.

Grace squinted her eyes slightly at him, before she looked away and slumped back into her chair. "Well, we're gunna be here for a while."

"It's a possibility, yes."

"Fine, well. Ever played 21 Questions?"

* * *

Author's Note

Hey! I thought to let you all know that Im working on a new story (which I have many plans for) and that I published the first chapter! Take a look if you're interested, and review maybe? :) It's called "The Forgotten Soldier".

Plus, if any of you are interested in playing some Halo on the Xbox, feel free to send me a friend request at FL Texas (also send a message so I know).

Anyways, thanks for reading! Reviews and suggestions are always welcome!

-Victoria/Dejae


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter 16: Im Lovin' It_

* * *

54 games of 21 Questions later, Grace hated the game and wanted nothing to do with it.

By the time the last game was over, John withdrew tiredly, but victorious, as he won all the games, and Grace, frustrated and the loser.

They spent the rest of the time in silence. Occasionally, Grace would leave to go to the bathroom and she'd return to find John in the same position she left him in.

Even though she was starving, Grace didn't dare leave in fear that something would happen when she was out getting food. The man beside her also didn't say anything about food, so Grace didn't bother talking about it.

Hours later, a man came through the door, and looked at John, motioning for him to come over with quick gestures.

John immediately got up and walked over to the man, who still stood by the door. Grace watched as the man whispered quickly to John, whose face began to turn into a frown. John nodded his reply, and the man left again, the door closing behind him.

"What's up?" Grace asked, feeling rather concerned. John continued to frown as he walked back to where she sat.

"The process is taking longer than expected." His chest expanded irritably as he sighed.

"How much longer?"

"Maybe one or two more days than expected."

Grace felt like sighing too, but she didn't.

"Let's go do something then, my legs are cramped from sitting around doing nothing," she said while getting up, and stretched out her arms and legs.

John raised an eyebrow curiously at her words. "Was 21 Questions not good enough?"

"Ha. Yeah, well, when you lose every single time, it gets tiring."

John laughed, which surprised her, because he barely showed any feelings whatsoever. "Then let's go, preferably to a place where we could eat."

Grace smiled, and followed him as he walked through a set of doors, which led them through multiple hallways, three flights of stairs, and another set of doors, bringing them to the lobby of the ONI Headquarters.

The woman at the front desk smiled politely at them as she heard them come in, before resuming her computer work.

John held the door open as he walked through, so Grace could come through as well. The rising sun wasn't all that bright, but enough to make Grace shy away, covering her eyes.

He raised an arm to cast a shadow over his face as well, waiting for his eyes to readjust to the change.

"I know a place," Grace spoke thoughtfully, trying to recall the name. "It's got good food, but for the life of me, I cannot remember what it's called."

John lowered his arm, and looked about the plaza they were in.

Grace also looked around, her eyes finally adjusting to the rising sun. Despite the pressing tiredness, she quickly went around it, eager to eat first.

"How about over there?"

Following John's pointed hand, she found herself staring at a classic 21st century fast-food place.

"McDonalds? You want to eat a Mickie D's?" Grace laughed.

John looked confused. "What's so bad about it?"

"Nothing, nothing," Grace tried saying as she held off another laugh. "Let's just go."

He continued to stare at her as she continued to stifle her laughs, before moving towards the vintage building, a big yellow 'M' glowing out front.

Grace trailed behind, only moving to lead when they got to the door. A bell rung out when they entered, the dull overhead lights flickered softly.

The place was virtually empty. Two girls worked at the counter, both didn't look over a day over 20 years old. Seeing that they had customers, one left for the kitchen and the other left to the counter. "Hello, and welcome to McDonalds, the only one left on Earth. How may I help you?"

Grace spoke first, "Hi, I would like .. the meal combo #3 with no fries, and water."

The cashier rung it in, then looked expectantly at John.

Grace faced him, and watched as he began frowning.

"Uhhh," Grace turned back to the cashier. "He'll take the same as me."

The cashier giggled, before punching in his order as well. Grace handed her the only money card she had, before saying to John, "Why don't you find a place to sit."

He still looked frustrated, but complied, grabbing a booth that gave them a window view of the shoreline.

Grace stood by the counter, tapping her fingers to a song on the radio while the food was being prepared.

_He never really had a chance at civilian life_.

The cashier brought the food on a tray to where Grace was standing, and said, "You're a lucky girl to know him." She giggled again, and left to go chat with her friend again.

"You're barely old enough, so shut up … and we're just friends," Grace mumbled. Grabbing the tray, she brought it over to where John was sitting, and slid it to him as she sat down.

She reached for her burger and water bottle, as John studied his food warily.

"Dig in," Grace spoke, and unwrapped her burger.

He also did the same, though pausing at the sight of it. It dripped with grease and cheese, bulging with tomatoes, lettuce, and sauce. "Are you sure this is suitable to eat?" John sent a questioning look at her.

Chewing and swallowing mouthful of food, Grace exclaimed, "Of course! The glory and juiciness of eating such a burger is a privilege! Now eat."

Poking the burger, he picked it up tensely, and took his first bite. Then his second. Then his third.

John ate the entire burger quickly, apparently satisfied with his choice as he leaned back into the booth.

Feeling the pressure to eat quickly, Grace gobbled up her burger, and wiped the sauce that hung on the corner of her mouth.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

John dumped their wrappers into the garbage, and set the tray on top. Grace tossed him his water bottle, and cradled her own in her arm.

Exiting the ancient McDonalds, she noticed the sun was higher in the sky, the blue sky surrounding it with no clouds.

"What do you want to do?" Grace asked, and pulled her hair back into a pony-tail.

The man beside her looked around. "I don't know …"

"Well I just so happen to know a place." She smiled, thinking of it.

"What is it?" He gazed at her, waiting for an answer.

"You'll see."


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter 17: Memory Lane_

* * *

"Where are we going?"

"A place of some sorts."

Grace gave him no hints to as where she led him, frustrating him slightly. Taking a silent breath, John continued to allow the Spartan-IV to bring him to a glass-building.

A group of guides smiled at them as they entered, all dressed in clean, neatly pressed uniforms. "Welcome to the Museum of Humanity. There aren't any current tours going on, but if you wait, you can join the first one starting at 3:00 this afternoon. Otherwise, you are free to explore as you please," a woman said, and raised her arm, motioning towards the first doorway.

John looked to the old-fashioned clock on the wall, ticking away the minutes. 9:37 AM.

Grace also smiled politely back to her, saying, "No thank-you. We're only here to look at Section M."

John guessed she's been here more than once.

The woman who spoke to them smiled wider. "Good choice. A very popular spot."

Grace nodded to her before walking through the doorway, and into the first room.

The hallway was dimly lit as bright lights illuminated the displays along the wall. As he walked along side Grace, John saw from the dawn of man, and many other historic events. There were ones of the Ancient Greeks, World War 1 and 2, the technological age-plenty of which he recognized from Deja's lessons. Then the displays and diaphragms began to change.

John saw Covenant displays, with their weapons and warriors listed, as well as humanity's own.

Grace tugged his shirt gently, and pointed towards the next room. John followed her without question.

She brought him into another room, almost circular. In it, a round glass case stood in the middle; John couldn't discern everything where he was standing.

"Go."

He glanced back at Grace, and she gestured him forward again.

Taking steps forward, John recognized everything.

Little plastic marines and Covenant stood, fighting each other in a still pose. Their faces, their wounds, so realistic are brought him back to the exact moment now encased in glass.

_A machine gun on the back of a Warthog thundered out of the fight, but it still could be heard. _

_Spinning around, John tried to duck the oncoming blow, but the Chieftan managed to still get him. _

_Roaring with pleasure, the Brute yanked away his MA5, examining the weapon with distaste as he held it high._

_John struggled to get free, aiming to hit the Chieftan in the head, but another nearby brute hit him in the stomach, stunning him for a moment._

_His mind raced with options, as the Chieftan once again roared his victory, and held him high for all to see._

_Nearby marines noticed his capture, and stopped fighting with the Grunts, who squealed and barked happily. More Brutes noticed the event, and added in the chorus of roars, now deafening John's ears. _

_The Chieftan raised John higher, bellowing even louder than before._

_Pulling out the plasma grenade he kept hidden, he looked down, and primed it._

_Looking back up at the crowd, John sighed, taking in a deep breath. Just as he exhaled, the Chieftan didn't notice John twist around, and push the grenade down his throat._

John tore his gaze away from it all and noticed Grace walk up beside him. "Quite an eye-capturing scene, isn't it?"

He had no comment, as memories from the battle drifted in and out of his mind.

"Let's go." She nudged him away with a gentle push.

John fell in line after her and removed the thoughts of the battle from his mind. "Where do you want to go next?" He asked, as they moved further into the room, passing Scorpian tanks.

"Mm. Back to the hotel; sleep sounds extremely appealing right now."

Fair enough.

They finished touring the museum on their own before leaving, just as the first tour group got together. The walk back to the hotel and to their room was a soundless one; John didn't attempt at making conversation and neither did she.

When they entered, Grace wordlessly headed straight for her bed, as did John. Hearing snoring, John saw Connor, still asleep on the couch, despite the fact that it was 3:30 in the afternoon.

Ignoring his loud companion, John also crawled into bed, somehow exhausted by the turn of events, but strangely so, fell asleep peacefully at the prospect of having Cortana come back to him again.

* * *

Author's Note

Cortana is coming, don't worry. John and Grace are just friends, who both are actually becoming really good friends. Just making sure that that's clear.

Reviews are always welcome!

-Victoria/Dejae


	18. Chapter 18

_Chapter 18: Feels so Soon_

* * *

They both entered the familiar building together, silent but caught up on all the missed sleep as they proceeded to the room previously entitled to their patient wait.

Not one minute later after they sat down in their seats, a woman burst through the doors, hair flying madly about as she exclaimed: "They did it!"

Grace watched John rise up, but stood waiting as the woman caught her breath.

In a more formal manner, the woman stood up straight, and fixed her hair behind her ears. "They're ready for you, Spartan-117. Follow me."

Grace met John's eyes as he began walking away. "Good luck," she called after him, and grinned encouragingly.

He responded with a smile of his own, and left the room.

**xXx**

Allison trembled, both nervous and excited as she walked beside the legendary Master Chief. She always saw pictures of him and his fellow Spartans in their shining green armour, helping wounded, fighting off Covenant forces, but this .. this was even better than she thought she could ever imagine.

She held the door open for him, and said, "In there is where you should be."

The man nodded at her, and went to go join the one scientist in the room, who was speaking to another, in a joint room.

"And Master Chief?" Allison quickly sputtered out. He stopped, and looked back at her. "I, uhm, it was an honour meeting you! It really was. And I hope you find what you're looking for."

He almost looked surprised, but murmured something she couldn't quite hear as the door closed in front of her.

**xXx**

"I hope so too," John whispered, and left the woman to join the scientist.

He was speaking through a microphone, observing another scientist who was down a level, visible through the glass window.

The scientist spun in his chair, and gave a little salute to John. "Alrighty! He's here. Start the computer up slowly, and turn on the hologram pad."

The microphone clicked off, and the scientist said to him next, "Spartan-117? You can go down there. Be there when she fully starts up."

John didn't say anything, but moved towards the staircase that led him down to the room below.

It wasn't a large room, but it held all the necessary equipment to make an AI, John guessed.

The female scientist down there fiddled around with some buttons, before leaving him to go sit with her fellow co-worker up in the room above.

"Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, meet Cortana, but Im sure you two already know each other," the male scientist happily said, when he was met with the cuff to the back of the head and a stern "Be quiet" from his co-worker.

But he paid no attention to them.

John watched as the hologram pad become illuminated with a soft blue glow-but no avatar. The solemn silence around him filled with a familiar laugh.

"So roomy in here! Oh, hello!"

Cortana.

"Hello, Cortana."

"Wow, this guy's good. He already knows my name."

With another blue flash, her avatar appeared on the hologram pad. John notices that the blue she wore was deeper, somehow, in colour, as codes traced around her figure.

"You must be Spartan-117."

John snapped his gaze back to her eyes. "Yes."

"Talkative." Cortana laughed. "Well, I was told that I was going to already receive some more information?"

He thought back to her previous state before rampancy. "Yes. An ... old friend of mine had collections of intel that may be useful to you, so the scientists will be sending it to you shortly."

The Cortana frowned slightly, before she worked back to a smile. "Im ready."

Turning to the side, John nodded at the two scientists sitting in the other room by a computer. The woman reached forward, and tapped a button on panel.

John turned back, and watched Cortana. She stood on the pedestal, almost grimacing.

"Download almost complete, sir!" Yelled the man from the nearby room. "Thing's may get a bit ancy."

Cortana cried out, and fell to her knees, her blue colour flashing to red, eyes closed.

John felt he should do something, but knew he could not.

"New Cortana AI model received all successful downloads, including parts old Cortana model's rampancy."

Cortana's blood-red colour slowly faded to it's normal blue, some parts still pulsing red before she stood up.

"I received all information. Capacity levels of storage almost full. I will pick through and erase all the irrelevant data. The process is .. done."

The female scientist nodded at John, before ushering her fellow worker out, leaving him alone.

John stood, and faced Cortana, her avatar standing only so far away.

He waited for her to remember.

She looked at John, squinting a bit before she offered a small smile.

"John."

She remembered.

"I ... remember. Everything." Cortana looked away briefly, before returning his watchful gaze with her own. "You waited for me."

"I did."

Nothing else was said, bringing the conversation to a standstill for a few minutes.

"Why did you wait, John?"

John felt the need to brush Cortana's cheek with his hand, but held back. "Did you not want me to wait?"

She laughed, her sweet laugh echoing throughout the room. "I didn't think you would."

"But I did."

"You did," Cortana dutifully admitted, sighing.

John shifted his weight to his other leg, waiting for her to speak.

And then she did. "There's no use for me here," Cortana whispered softly. "I know there are other AI's that are far more better-"

"Stop."

Cortana paused mid-setence, looking at John.

He sighed himself, allowing a moment to collect his thoughts. "I requested that you be brought back for me. If that means that we'll have to go back into the field, I'd take it."

Cortana's eyes began building with emotions, as she risked a step away from him. "So you haven't figured out which one of us is the machine, yet."

Before John could reply, she wheeled around, exclaiming, "I don't want you to kill anymore, John! To take lives ... just, isn't right for them, and not for you. Not anymore. From what was downloaded, I know the war with the Didact is over, obviously. So why keep on fighting for a purpose that doesn't exist?"

John had no answer.

Cortana continued, "I don't want you to be a machine any longer. Be human, like you should be. Trust others, make friends, fall in love ..."

John snapped his head up at Cortana's mention of "love". She still stood watching him.

"You do, don't you?" Cortana softly said.

John's heart thumped in his chest. He tried clearing his throat, but a cough came out. He ran his fingers through his hair, and turned away slightly.

"John?"

"Yes?" He finally managed to get out.

"You love me."

**xXx**

Cortana gazed at John, still waiting for a response. The man shuffled his feet, and looked at everything else but her.

"John," she said, still looking at him. Cortana felt a trickle of human emotions that were part of herself feeding her mind, her words.

His gaze shot upward at her mentioning his name, and Cortana acknowledged his heart rate briefly before returning to the task at hand.

"Say something."

His eyes narrowed slightly, in thought. "Like what?"

"Anything. Say anything."

"Anything."

"Yes."

But he didn't say anything, he just remained quiet.

"Look, John-"

"Cortana."

She froze, mid-sentence. The way he said her name ...

All he had to give was a sad smile.


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter 19: Remember Everything _

* * *

__John walked out of the Pelican, and back onto the _Infinity_. He keenly looked around at the busied personal and marines, along with a few Spartan-IV's as they crowded the deck. He knew they must be amongst the next group to travel to Earth for a week.

As he took a step forward, John let his right hand drift towards a pocket, where it met Cortana's chip. He almost sighed, but prevented it from happening.

Moving his hand off the chip, he lifted his duffel bag of newly purchased belongings over his shoulder. John knew he would have to face her again. After their last conversation, he knew it was inevitable.

But John needed a place to be alone. Where no one could hear him, or her for that matter. As he exited the hanger, John made way for his room, striding along the familiar hallways with ease. Thankfully, no one attempted to make conversation with him.

Just as he reached his room, a feminine voice called out, "John! You're back!"

Putting on a smile, John turned and replied to Grace. "Yes, I got offered a position on the _Infinity _to train new recruits." He briefly recalled his conversation with Lasky before he departed for the closest UNSC base. Lasky was thrilled with John's answer, and had enthusiastically informed him that more information would be given within a few days after his arrival back.

"That's great! I'll bet you'll be a great drill instructor." Grace laughed as she stepped beside him. She became serious, and looked curiously at him. "Did you ..."

John was confused. "Did I what?"

"You know .." Grace looked around to see if people were eavesdropping. "Get Cortana back?"

John's mind froze for one second, before hurrying to make a reply. "Yes, I have her with me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out her chip.

Grace smiled broadly at the chip. John sensed her happiness, but for some reason, her feelings did not match his own.

"Hey John," Grace said, and smiled nervously at him. "You okay, bud?"

"Yes, fine. But ..."

"But what?" Grace lost her goofiness immediately.

"She's not here for me. Cortana is here to work with Glassman during his remaining days here, then they are returning to Earth."

Grace didn't miss a beat. She walked forward, and the door slid open. Pulling John inside, she turned and locked the door after it slid shut.

Sensing what was about to happen, John threw his duffel bag on his bed, and sat down beside it. He pulled out her chip, and fiddled with it in his hands. It glowed blue, casting some of the blue light on his scarred hands.

Grace sat down on a chair, and scooted closer to the bed. "Tell me."

John looked up to meet her eyes, but looked away last second. Despite the years of how well he concealed his feelings, they were beginning to break through the barrier he placed in front.

"John .. " Grace whispered softly.

"I know." John gruffly replied, wishing to be somewhere else. He then thought of a place to go.

"Well-" Grace began to say before he cut her off.

"Can we talk elsewhere?" John rose to his full height, and towered over Grace. "I have to do something first."

He could see Grace felt slightly intimidated but she also rose to her full height, and stood glowering at John.

"Nice try there, shorty," John teased Grace and tapped her on the nose before sliding past the chair to the door.

"Hey, that's not funny!" Grace yelled after him.

"Then what are friends for?" John allowed himself to smirk, and stood for a moment to unlock the door.

"Friends are there for others."

John glanced back and saw Grace standing not too far behind him. Her face was blank, but her eyes gave him all he needed to know. All she wanted him to know.

He left Grace, the only one who he could call friend. John tossed the chip lightly in the air and caught it gently. He spun it between fingers, occasionally looking doing to see her brilliant colour glowing within the confines of the chip.

John knew what he had to say. What he left out in their previous conversation. It clouded his thoughts, his minds, and could bear it no longer. Grace's conversation slightly distracted, but she slowly inched her way into his present thoughts.

Turning a corner, he almost ran into two marines. Both pretty women, they smiled friendly at him. John only nodded in return.

He soon found himself in a familiar hallway. It had a dead-end with an access panel near the entrance, beside a hologram pad.

"Roland?" John called out, hoping for a quick response from the _Infinity's _AI. He was granted one.

"Yes, Spartan? Nice to see you back." Roland's voice echoed in the hall. Some people walking by glanced in but didn't interfere.

"It's good to be back," John answered. "Could you do me a favour?"

"What's the favour?" Roland chuckled. "And no, you can't fly the ship!"

John laughed slightly, despite his current situation. Roland always had a sense of humour that could make John smile. "No, something else."

"Phew. Almost thought you did." Roland said happily. "What can I help you with?"

"Please lock this hallway down, and give me access to the AI terminal located in the access panel. Also, the hologram panel."

Roland's avatar flashed up on the hologram pad. He had a look of curiosity on his features. "That's a strange request, Chief, but-"

"Please, Roland. You can monitor everything. I just need to talk with someone. And if you can see .." John held up Cortana's chip in the palm of his hand. He took a deep breath in, waiting for Roland's response.

After a few moments, Roland's avatar disappeared in a golden flash. "I won't monitor, Chief. I trust you. But I'll leave up a safety protocol-"

"Whatever you think is necessary, Roland."

A small slot appeared on the side of the access panel that wasn't there before. John took that as Roland's answer when the door began to shut, isolating him from everyone else.

He was alone.

John hesitantly took a step towards the access panel, his hand holding the chip reached out, but he stopped. For once, John had no thoughts. No idea what to say. But he knew he had to say something. He knew Cortana deserved better.

But was better? To this, he had no answer to.

John sighed, and took a step closer. He felt like a fool. He was a Spartan, the last of the II's, yet here he was, unsure of what to do next.

Ridding himself of everything, John strode up to the access panel, and slid her chip into the slot.

For a minute, there was nothing. Complete silence. Nothing came up on the hologram pad either. John quickly became worried. What if he damaged the chip somehow? Could he have broken it?

Then, came the sphere. It was a blue sphere. It came slowly, outlining itself with little spots of blue light. It began filling itself in between the lines, one at a time.

John stood quietly, waiting for her. When she said nothing, he quietly asked, "Cortana?"

The sphere pulsed in response. It began to unfurl slowly, part of it stretching out. The ball morphed into her avatar.

Cortana didn't meet his gaze right away. She shuffled her feet, and sighed.

"Cortana?" John repeated, and he crouched down to be eye level with her.

She finally met his eyes. She didn't say anything for a moment.

"I-"

"No, let me." She closed her eyes before saying. "Why, John?"

Those two words rang in his head.

Two little words.

And he didn't know how to answer them.

* * *

Author's Note

Well? Did ya'll like it? I've been thinking/experimenting with different possibilities for this chapter, but chose this one out of all that I wrote down. Hope it'll suffice.

Read, share, and review please!

-Victoria/Dejae


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter 20: Almost_

* * *

A few days later, Grace found herself becoming concerned for John.

"_He wanted Cortana back so badly .. yet she's for Glassman?" _

Moving aside for a passing soldier, Grace cradled her icecream close to her chest. Managing to sneak it aboard wasn't so much of an amazing feat, but a feat that would be well worth it. The Double Chocolate Brownie Chunk icecream was still frozen cold from being in a freezer in the cafeteria. Luckily, none of the cook noticed that she slipped it in, therefore it escaped their watchful eyes.

Patting her pocket to check to see if she still had her spoons, Grace smiled lightly, recalling that she had grabbed a dozen spoons in her rush to get the icecream, to get out of the cafeteria and back to her room.

"_ETA ... two minutes_." Grace guessed in her head as she once again hid the container from more unwanted eyes as people passed by. The thought of John seemed to sap her hunger for the icecream, but she knew that she had to go see him sometime.

"_But not now .. not when I have this to eat-_"

"Saving all that to yourself, Spartan?"

Whirling around, Grace found herself caught. By Leigh.

"And none to you, I should say." Grace stuck her tongue out of her mouth at him, and pushed the container farther into her open jacket.

"Well, Im not going to let you just eat it all. I want some too."

Rolling her eyes, Grace turned to face Leigh more squarely. "Nope. Too bad; you should have thought about this yourself."

"I did. I just didn't want to get caught." Leigh crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Awww, you poor thing. Well, not my fault. So sorry, but maybe next time."

"You'd never share with me next time."

Instead of answering or replying, Grace continued on her way, aware that the container was getting warmer by the minute.

"Excuse me?" Leigh darted in her way, much to Grace's irritation. "I actually need to talk to you."

"You can wait. I have better things to do."

"Eating icecream is considered important?" Leigh questioned, almost laughing.

Grace sighed, and thought to herself, "_Ignore him. People like him just don't understand_._" _Trying to get around him, Grace sidestepped, but was only met Leigh in the way again. "Look," she said aloud, letting her annoyance show. "What do you want?"

"I just want to know if you've seen the Master Chief around."

"The who?" She sarcastically replied, hoping to drive him away soon.

Leigh, also getting irritated, rubbed his temples before saying, "The big green freak-"

"Hey-"

"Sorry. The big green guy. Spartan-II?"

"Yeah, I know who you're talking about. Why do you care about him? Im pretty sure you hate his guts."

"Oh. don't get me wrong," Leigh gave Grace a lopsided smile. "I do hate his guts. Im just wondering."

"Righhhht." Grace sneakily peaked at the container, and became concerned with the growing condensation on the sides. "I have seen him. Now, you got your answer, and I need to eat this."

As Grace began walking away, Leigh called out, "Okay, well, if you see him, tell him I expect the deal to still be in order and effect."

"_The deal?" _Before Grace could ask Leigh, he was gone from her line of sight.

"Huh," Grace murmured to herself. She silently vowed to find John and ask him about that too._ "After, the icecream is eaten."_

**xXx**

John made his way to Grace's room by taking random hallways, curious to where they would lead. He felt like he wanted to be alone, after what was said with Cortana, but he knew Grace would want to know what occurred. "_She always seems to give good advice as well .. "_

Taking a right, John almost collided with a marine. He was tall, blonde, and had a crooked smile. He laughed, and said, "Pardon me, sir. Sorry for not seeing you."

John gave a small nod in response, and sighed as the marine left. "_So many people don't even know what my face looks like .. what the Master Chief's face looks like._

_"Only Cortana knew me."_ John stopped, both mid-step and mid-thought. Inside his head, he stammered for a counter-argument. _"Hasley knew me too .. and Mendez."_

Another argument came into his present thoughts. _"But that was so long ago. Who knows where Mendez or Hasley are. Or are if they were even still alive. Besides, they only knew me as a child-"_

John shook his head, making an attempt to erase of all those thoughts. He only knew where they would lead.

Finding himself at Grace's door, John lifted his hand, and knocked on the door.

He heard something fall to the floor with a loud **thud,** followed by someone falling on the floor with a pained groan. "Coming ..." the voice called out, and John identified the voice as Grace's.

The door slid open to reveal a messy room. Clothes, spoons, and other belongings were scattered amongst the floor and furniture. John did a double-take at the spoons, questioning their existence.

"John! Johnny-Boy .." Grace said, bringing John's wandering gaze back to her. She had a brown substance on her cheek, and above her lips. She smiled, as if it wasn't there. "Come in, come in! Don't mind the mess, but I was, uh, rather busy."

"Does it have to do with the thing on your face?" John asked as he stepped in, and around a shirt. He looked up just in time to catch Grace's mortified face at his mentioning to something on her face.

Cheeks turning red, she ran for the bathroom, knocking a container from under a blanket on the floor. As Grace washed her face, John walked over, and bent down to pick up the container.

When Grace came back in the room, John asked her, "Double Chocolate Brownie Chunk?" He smiled, holding up the container.

"Hey, give me that!" Grace swiped the icecream container from his hand, and looked inside, seeming disappointed.

"What's wrong?" John raised an eyebrow, curious.

Grace sighed, then said, "They really need to put more of this in a bigger container."

"Im sure they do." John smiled again, then looked around for a chair. "Perhaps I should come back another time, when you are more organized .. "

Grace laughed. "No way! I want to know about what happened with you and Cortana, since you failed to tell me last time we talked. So find a seat, and sit down."

John gazed about the room, looking for a chair, until he found one buried underneath various belongings. He brushed aside the clothes, and sat down. Grace likewise did the same on her bed. She shuffled about, getting comfortable, before nodding her consent to start talking.

"Well, as you know, or may have guessed, I was able to get Cortana back."

"Yes, I know that, but what happened after? You said she was going to Glassman to help assist him or whatever, but she was supposed to be yours, John. I know you wanted that more than .. well, anything it seemed." Grace lost all goofiness, and became serious. Her face was blank-save for a spot of chocolate that she missed when washing her face-her eyes were solemn, and her mouth was drawn in a tight line.

John sighed, as he remembered the conversation between him and Cortana. "If you don't mind, I don't want to bring up the entire conversation, or everything that happened." He paused, and watched Grace consider what he said.

"I think talking about it would help, but it's your decision, so so be it. Continue."

Taking a deep breath, John asked quietly, "Have you ever been in love, Grace?"

He saw Grace hesitate, before nodding her head; ever so slowly.

Pleased with her answer, John then said, "Have you ever lost that person you love?"

Grace looked up, and his eyes, before looking away. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but quickly closed it.

Not missing a beat, John whispered, "How do you survive something like that? How do people survive it?"

"I don't know-"

"I don't know either! And with Cortana, it's happened so many times .. but this last time .. " John tried to keep his feelings in check, but a few slipped away. He began to talk, but his voice failed him. Clearing his throat, John began again. "This last time .. was the worst. I saw her go .. I saw her .. just, go ..."

Clenching and releasing his fists, John looked down at his feet, and took another deep breath in. "I don't know how I managed to survive that. How I could ever survive that again .. it beyond me."

This time, when John met Grace's gaze, they held it. "So .." she softly said, and held her arms to her chest.

"So, if I were to lose Cortana again ... " John looked away again, for fear of showing too much of the emotions he felt burning inside.

"John ..." She whispered.

John immediately looked right back at Grace. For a moment, she looked like her. _She_ _sounded like her._

"If I were to lose her again," John choked out, afraid he was saying to much. "I don't know what I'd do with myself."

He stood up, and walked across the room, beginning to pace. The walking helped clear his mind, and slow his fast beating heart. Once he got it under control, he sat back down again, with his back straighter, and shoulders square.

"So you decided to just give her away?" Grace inquired, almost cautiously.

John looked past Grace, and at the wall. It's bare surface offered nothing visually appealing, but John concentrated on it.

"Im sorry," Grace spoke in a rush, "It's just-"

"No need for apologies."

There was a pause of silence.

"Would you agree with me," John began to whisper, but it ended more strongly: "That it's sometimes best to just remember those who are gone?"

Grace's face had a mix of emotions upon it: sadness, anger, fear, and others. She smiled past them, and nodded her head. "Yes, sometimes its best just to remember those who are gone."


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Note

* * *

So, this is it. Im down to the last chapters, or chapter, I should say. It is still a work in progress, but Im working on it every chance I get.

The last chapter is difficult to write, for reasons kind of .. unknown. And I don't know how else to put it, other than Im understand how and why John feels the way he does, as well as Cortana. And trying to take those feelings and explaining them well enough ... is, well, hard. But I'll figure it out.

Anyways, it has been a joy writing for all of you, and I just want to thank everyone who liked, favourited, followed, and reviewed my story; its always (generally) heartwarming to read through them. :) I hope you all enjoy the last chapter!

-Dejae/Victoria

P.S I may go back to rewrite or change some of the previous chapters content, so if you have any suggestions, or any ideas or things that you think should be changed/modified, feel free to PM me! The help is always appreciated.


	22. Epilogue

_Epilogue: All Too Well_

* * *

"No, let me." She closed her eyes before saying. "Why, John?"

Those two words rang in his head.

Two little words.

And he didn't know how to answer them.

"John," She whispered pleadingly. "I don't ... understand."

"I just ... I can't .." he whispered back. He knew she was watching him, and he tried to hold his motionless posture together, but he felt it slowly slipping between his fingers.

He shoulders shook as he held back a sob; something he was not accustomed to. John didn't fully understand why he was experiencing these emotions.

Emotions.

Closing his eyes, John tried to subdue the growing anger at the lack of control he tried to hold over himself, the growing sadness at what was happening, and the heartache that was beginning to fill his chest.

Inhaling sharply, John tried to speak but she spoke first.

"John, please. I can't go on not knowing why."

"Im trying," he whispered as quietly as he could.

With the silence, it sounded like he was yelling.

Opening his eyes, John saw Cortana kneeling on the hologram pad. Her deep blue colour seemed to be aglow with a fiery sapphire look. But her eyes, stood out the most. Even though she did not say anything, her eyes said something. Her eyes said it all.

"I have to do this."

"Do what, John?"

"I have to let you go," John whispered again, his voice as hushed as it could get. "I can't ... fight this. I have to go ... before something happens to you again; before you .. die. I can't let that happen again. Im so sorry."

He felt his voice give away, and became still. John looked down at his hands, and traced a finger over the countless scars he saw. "You know I love you, Cortana. I always will. But I have to do this. I don't think I could ... live through losing you again."

"John."

Forcing himself to look at her, John felt the pain in his chest grow when their eyes me. "I tried to do this, Cortana." John turned away again, unable to see her. "But lately, these thoughts .. they . I can't fight them off-"

"_John_."

"Yes?" His voice cracked once more, and he cleared his mind of the impending thoughts, and the feelings that pierced his heart.

"Be safe."

Her words reverberated throughout John's mind, washing away the doubts, the fears, the anger, and it lessened the heartache. He immediately looked up after she said those two words, only to see her looking away.

But she looked back, and smiled. Her smile, was full of sadness, and it only lasted two seconds before it faded away.

John opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know what to say. He felt the seconds remaining for them together fall steadily away. He knew it was time to go.

"Cortana," he managed to say, and smiled at her, even though he knew it matched her sad smile.

She looked down at the floor, and back at his eyes. She smiled back at him, her bottom lip quavering. "Good-bye."

And with that, she disappeared. Her blue avatar flashed in a brilliant blue light before leaving him.

That was the last time he ever saw her.

The way she looked in that moment before she left was all he could think about.

And now, she was gone.


End file.
